RWBY: Sonat Ex Silentio
by ZipRush
Summary: Beacon Academy has been ordered, following Roman Torchwick's attack, to increase the number of Huntsmen being trained. Most of these new students come from just as wide and varied a life as the current body, but one stands out, not for anything he's done, but for his origins. The Grimm, the Queen, and the White Fang are not all that Beacon must be vigilant against.
1. Ab Initio (The Beginning)

**Author's note:**

Firstly, the temporal setting. This first book takes place between Volume 2 and Volume 3, with Torchwick's train attack having spurred a cry for more students at Beacon from Vale's council. Now to the heart of the matter.

This work came about, initially, as the product of a sleep-deprived brain that couldn't quite forget that each team appeared to have a 'theme', i.e. RWBY being based around fairytale protagonists, JNPR around cross-dressing warriors, CRDL around birds, and so forth. This is based around a team whose theme is 'Christian saints'. While Monty, Miles and Kerry have yet to discuss religion, it just seemed apt to have a team that was religion-based. The fact that Ladislaus's weapon, when not in use, is a cross was because there are only so many shapes one can use, so a cross is bound to manifest on multiple occasions. For reference, Ruby wears a half-dozen crosses on her own clothing. Also, European swords tended to follow a cruciform arrangement for centuries, and I couldn't muster the required spatial thinking to break the mold. That said, read, enjoy, and tell me what you liked and what you didn't.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Laz! We've been had! We need to go, unless you <em>want<em> to be found by the police!"

"Hang on, Basil, I've almost got it. I just need a few more seconds." Ladislaus leaned out from his position in the rafters, reaching towards a large, hanging Dust crystal in the room's centre. His fingers tapped along the side of the crystal, starting it swinging. His fingers continued to push the crystal as it swung closer, until he could finally grab it. Yanking it from its string, he dropped down to the floor. "Gotcha. Alright, where's our exit, if you were so intent on leaving?"

"Everyone else already bailed. We could try the back door, I'm not sure if they've locked that down yet."

"I doubt we've got time to discuss it, so let's hope they haven't. Lead the way." Ladislaus wrapped the crystal in a rag as Basil darted out, moving towards the back of the shop, and, if Luck was willing, safety.

Ladislaus and Basil peered around the back door before stepping out, well aware of the Vale Police Department's standard operating procedure for breaking and entering. Ladislaus looked down at the crystal he'd looted, still wrapped firmly in its rag. "Basil, I've got an idea. Get out of sight of the door." Basil raised an eyebrow, uncertain of his friend's idea and its content, but soon discarded such thoughts, nodding and retreating into the shadows of the hallway. Confident that Basil would be able to escape, Ladislaus unwrapped the crystal. "Now, if I remember how Dust works, I should just need to shake this a few times, then it should work as a good approximation of a grenade." Ladislaus examined the crystal for a few moments, noting the size and cleavage points present, before settling on where and how he should aim for it to land and how far away he should be when it goes off. Walking back towards the storefront, Ladislaus shook the crystal until it glowed with a faint red light. _Fire._ Ladislaus grimaced at this revelation. _This'll be a treat._

Reaching the door to the storefront, Ladislaus made one last check of the size of the crystal. _Bigger than my hand. Maybe half again as big. There's no way I can get far enough to not get hurt. _Ladislaus opened the door a little, watching the bustle of activity outside the store. _Good. They're not inside._ Opening the door completely, Ladislaus threw the crystal, aiming just beneath the front windows, and took off into the back rooms. Hearing the tinkling of the crystal shattering on the floor, he shouted for Basil to run, and braced himself for the inevitable impact. The pressure wave hit Ladislaus first, knocking him against the wall, followed seconds later by a tongue of flame stretching down the corridor, missing him by inches. As the fire receded, Ladislaus sighed. _That was too close. Basil better have made it out. _"Whatever. It's not like I'm going anywhere inconspicuously. Get me while I'm hot, Vale."

* * *

><p>Bright lights soon woke Ladislaus from his rest. Trying to discern their source through bleary eyes returned only silhouettes dressed in blue. Rubbing his eyes, Ladislaus decided to start the inevitable conversation off. "Vale Police?"<p>

The officer next to Ladislaus responded. "Yes, we were called here about a B&E. Now it's arson. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

"Arson? No sir. Do I look like the kind of person who goes around burning buildings?" Ladislaus gestured to himself, still ash-covered from the fire.

"Look, I'll level with you. Even if the arson wasn't you, we've still got you for the breaking-and-entering. So, if you know who or what set fire to this shop, you'd do well to say so now."

"Really, officer? While I'm sure that you might think the phrase "No honour among thieves" is a universal constant, let me assure you it isn't. On that note, though, I will admit that no person was responsible for the fire. It was the giant Dust crystal that the owner was using for lighting in there."

"The same crystal that was missing when we arrived?"

"So you noticed. Well, there comes a time in every caper where you need to cut your losses and run. Sometimes, you forget you have an incredibly volatile crystal in your possession, and when said crystal gets uncomfortably warm, you tend to throw it away, not realising that it's going to detonate rather explosively and set a shop on fire. And that is how you wind up in a predicament like mine."

"Nice story, covers a lot of holes. Does not exonerate you of arson, though. You still caused it by generating the incendiary element."

"Damn. Alright, take me to the station. Do I get a phone call? Or can I just tell you who I'm going to contact and your men will arrange something?"

"I'm open to the second."

"Thank you for your open mind. I intend to contact my parents, Michaeus and Helia Feher, and inform them that I have again been detained for crimes against the state of Vale. They at least deserve to know where I've been all night."

"Michaeus Feher as in Pastor Michaeus Feher?"

"The same. Yeah, I know, what's some altar boy doing out late at night with unsavoury sorts who break into shops? It's not difficult to figure out. I'll let you have a go."

The officer shook his head, pulling out his scroll, and began, as far as Ladislaus could tell, searching Ladislaus's surname in the database. As his image came up on the screen, the officer chuckled. "Thought I'd seen you before. Five prior arrests, all dismissed due to either a lack of evidence or, ahem, 'intervention'."

"That's the one. Say, shouldn't we be doing this in a secure room?"

"Why? You're expressing no interest in running, we've got the place completely locked down, and there's, quick count, four other officers here. You're no more or less secure here, and this conversation is no more or less admissible in court here than in an interrogation room. But that's beside the point. Stand up, hands behind your back. Ladislaus Feher, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will-"

Ladislaus stood, obeying the officer's orders. "Yes, I know. Anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of law. I have the right to counsel. If I cannot arrange for or afford counsel, counsel shall be provided to me at public expense. I understand these rights as they have been read. Done. I'll wait for you to take me to the car." Ladislaus grinned as he heard the officer grow more discontented with Ladislaus's behaviour. Marched out through the front door of the Dust shop, Ladislaus nodded politely at the officers who turned to look at him, until he was ushered into the squad car.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus looked up from the desk he'd been placed at, only to see his parents walking in, instead of the detective he'd expected. "Oh no. Mom, Dad, I can explain. Last night-" Ladislaus was cut off by his father. "Last night you should have been inside! We put you under curfew for a reason!" Ladislaus stood, bringing himself eye-to-eye with his father. "Yes. Last night I <em>should<em> have been inside. But I wasn't. Did it ever occur to you why? It wasn't because I'm some kind of reprobate, good only to populate Vale's growing underclass. It wasn't because 'I'm just a teenager going through a phase'. It was because I am bored of the church. Bored of the robes, bored of the ceremony, bored of having to get up early to be charitable to people who, while I'm sure they have good intentions, don't seem to be making any actions towards self-improvement. I mean, I hate to latch on to the social elephant in the room, but tell me: in the past six months, how many Faunus have been attending?"

Ladislaus's father glowed, incandescent with rage. Before he could unleash it, however, he was stopped by his wife. "I don't remember the exact numbers, but they've been decreasing. Why does it matter?"

"What has been growing in the past six months? White Fang presence. Those Faunus you were preaching to? They were just biding their time, waiting for something that they knew was making a difference. Our sermons, our charity… it's a nice sentiment, but it's not _doing _anything. And now we get to the reason. The reason why you're visiting me, in a police station, for the sixth time in as many months, is because I want you guys to stop grooming me to take over. There are dozens of volunteers who are infinitely more qualified than I am to manage the day-to-day goings on there, and I just want to be able to do more for those we preach at than give them platitudes and empty words. Some of those people were made homeless by Grimm attacks. Some of them would like to go and at least collect their things from those abandoned houses. So, I'm willing to offer here. Get me off the hook and into Beacon, and I'll straighten up. I'll come up with all the things I need without stealing or any other such criminal acts. You have my word."

Ladislaus's father, still glowing, regarded his son almost with disgust at this revelation. "You want us to get you out of trouble for the sixth time, so that you can play hero at Beacon? I fail to see what is so great and mighty about being a Hunter to you. You'll go out, you'll fight Grimm, and then you'll inevitably be killed by Grimm. That's no life."

"It's better than what I think the church can offer. So, Mom, how about it?"

Ladislaus's mother, deep in thought, shook her head faintly. "You're asking us to get an _arson _charge swept under the rug, Ladislaus."

"Tell them what I told you. They let me off the hook, I'll go to Beacon, get my house in order, and they'll never have to worry about me again."

Ladislaus's parents exchanged a glance, before leaving. Ladislaus walked up to the door, placing his ear against the window inside it. While Ladislaus couldn't make out any distinct words, he could recognise his mother's voice, negotiating with both his father and one of the officers. The discussion went on for a considerable period, with Ladislaus becoming more convinced by the minute he wouldn't get his wish.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the door finally opened. Framed in it was the officer he presumed he heard outside. "I don't like this, but you've got your deal. You will be released from confinement for a probationary period to be served at Beacon Academy. In keeping with regular probation procedure, if you should happen to be justifiably tied to any criminal activity during your time at Beacon, or before you are judged sufficiently reformed, then you will be detained and the full extent of the law will be used to prosecute you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Ladislaus nodded, raising his wrists for the handcuffs to be removed. "And the shop?"

"Your parents will pay for damages incurred."

Ladislaus rubbed his wrists, relishing the lack of metal there. "Thank you for this opportunity. At the risk of sounding clichéd, you won't regret this decision."

The officer opened the door, ushering Ladislaus through it. "What have I got to regret? I'm not the one who's risking a prison sentence to go to Beacon."

Ladislaus frowned at the dismissive way the officer referred to Beacon, before adopting a more neutral, if slightly chastised, expression as he approached his parents. Ladislaus noticed his father's expression hadn't changed since they last talked. "Alright, here he is. I had the desk sergeant put in a call to Beacon as well. They just need you to confirm your son's intent, and they'll tell you where to go from there."

Ladislaus's mother nodded, shepherding him out to the car. "You know how risky being a Hunter is, don't you?"

"Yes, mom. I'm well aware of the risks of becoming a Hunter. There's a few dozen books, mostly diaries, on the subject in the attic. I'm under no romantic pretences about the job. Speaking of, I'd like a key to the attic. There's a few things up there I'd like to have a closer look at, now that I know I'm going to Beacon." Ladislaus's father, who'd been silent since they'd left, snorted at his request. "There's only old relics up there. I don't see why you'd want to have access."

"You don't go into the attic much, do you? Those 'relics' have more use than you'd think. I'm fairly certain I saw some armour up there once, and I know I could scrounge up a weapon if I looked hard enough."

"Alright, if you think you can find anything _useful_ in that mess, I don't see why I shouldn't let you up there. You might tidy the place up, at least."

* * *

><p>Pulling up outside the church, Ladislaus collected the attic key from his mother, before vanishing up the ladder into the attic, eager to track down the suit of armour he'd seen. Leaping over boxes, filled with books that he'd read, cover-to-cover, detailing the early Hunters, when humanity was at the brink of extinction. Whilst he searched, he could hear his parents making the arrangements for his enrolment at Beacon downstairs. What intrigued him, though, was the fact that his parents talked to whomever was on the phone in the same way they'd talk to an old friend. He had no idea that his parents had any connection to the school whatsoever. As he listened, he narrowed down the armour's location to a single corner, stacked high with boxes and paintings. As he began climbing, he heard a sentence that seemed so uncharacteristic of his parents echoing up from below. "We're calling in that favour. We gave you our church, and our blood during that attack years ago, now we need your school."<p>

Hearing his parents talk about "favours" in reference to an attack that he remembered well, seemed so unlike the kindly, if stern, parents he'd been raised by. This revelation also explained his father's distaste for Ladislaus's wish. If he'd played host to Hunters during that attack, then he would have seen god-knows-how-many of them being cut down by Grimm. He was soon returned to the real world when the stack of boxes he was climbing began to sway. Checking around him, he pushed forwards, forcing the boxes to fall away from him. As the stack collapsed, he heard a distinctive 'clang', indicating he'd found the suit he was looking for. Moving boxes away from where the clang came from, he soon pulled up a cuirass, thankfully undamaged by the collapse, and covered in a thick layer of dust. Setting it aside, he continued digging, soon emerging with the rest of the suit, with the exception of thigh armour, which was lacking from the outset.

Arranging the armour on the floor of the attic, Ladislaus searched around to find something to match it and, ideally, cover the rather obvious gap in the armour around his thighs. Still lying amid the scattered boxes which held the armour, Ladislaus found a set of chain mail, which seemed to match the armour he'd pulled from the same pile. Checking to see if it covered the areas his plate armour didn't, he placed the now-completed suit inside one of the empty boxes that had been scattered, before beginning his slow descent down the ladder to the main floor. Walking through the main chapel, Ladislaus saw his parents deep in discussion with a tall, white-haired man. He would have stopped to listen, except that, given his recent behaviour and decisions, he felt that his parents might not look kindly upon him eavesdropping. So he continued onwards to the storage closet, where the grease and polish was kept. Still hearing murmurs from the conversation outside, Ladislaus nudged the closet door open slightly with his foot, trying to surreptitiously learn as much about the conversation as he could.

"So, Michaeus, Helia told me that Ladislaus had plans of attending Beacon. I was also contacted by Vale's police force regarding using Beacon as a type of probation in light of a particularly bad case of property damage. Assuming the two events are related, you are asking me to take in somebody with several arrests for varying crimes, ranging from petty theft to arson, on nothing more than your name, which we both know isn't yours, and on you opening your doors for my compatriots almost a decade and a half ago. You know that allowing somebody with Ladislaus's record is a huge risk for me, and for Beacon's reputation. Can you offer evidence to suggest that Ladislaus's behaviour will change in any noticeable way once he arrives at Beacon?"

"Look, Oz, we both know I can't provide any evidence that he'll change once he's at Beacon. All I can say is that he was, before six months ago, perfectly good-natured and obedient. Six months ago, he turned 17, and was informed of his impending church initiation."

A note of interest entered the other man's voice. "A 'church initiation'? And what does that entail?"

"Ladislaus would agree to give himself entirely to the service of the church, including his last name and any material possessions of his. He is then subjected to several tests of faith. Should he fail any of those tests, he will be stripped of whatever non-clerical status he may have and exiled. His name will be blacklisted, and he will be denied aid by any Cerulan churches in Vale."

"And it didn't occur to you that this very news might be what drove Ladislaus to crime? A sort of rebellion against a system he found wanting?"

"Of course not. We wouldn't have ensured his release had we known this was his plan. He would have been blacklisted after the first time and that would be the end of the matter."

Ladislaus, having paused from his polishing of the armour to listen more intently, shut the door quietly, returning to his polishing with more intensity. He had no idea that was what awaited him if he remained with the church. All he did know was that if his life was entwined with it past the ceremony, it would be all the more difficult to leave. Knowing that his choices were now to either go to Beacon or risk being stuck in poverty without a reasonable chance to receive any form of charity, he steeled himself for whatever Beacon had to offer.

* * *

><p>When Ladislaus left the closet, the suit of armour was dazzlingly bright, and moved without even a hint of noise or effort. Having already been aware of the rather distinctive change in the armour's shape from lacking any cuisses, he appropriated the lower half of one of the order's distinctive cerulean robes (hence the name) also in the closet, cutting it cleanly in the centre to allow for more freedom of movement, before adding it to his suit. Placing the finished outfit back in the box, Ladislaus scaled the ladder leading to the attic again, this time in search of a weapon. While he knew that the scattered boxes he'd left strewn about the attic would complicate his search, he also figured that it would make searching through the stacks of boxes that much easier if half of them were already spilling their non-liquid contents out onto the attic floor.<p>

Returning to the pile that he'd discovered his armour in, Ladislaus hoped to find a weapon that might hail from the same origin as the armour he possessed. It didn't take him long to find one in the form of a slightly oversized crucifix, still shining despite the years it had to have lain unused. Examining the crucifix revealed one dark green gem near the centre that was larger than any others on the symbol, which Ladislaus was reluctant to press. If it was a weapon, he had no idea what it would turn into, let alone how to hold it, when he pressed the gem, and the last thing he wanted was to kill himself looking. Placing the crucifix on the floor, Ladislaus pressed the gem, then stood back. The crucifix made a noise that sounded like gears inside it grinding away, not quite managing to work the mechanism that transformed it, before slowly quieting. Ladislaus, disappointed by the anticlimactic results, tapped it a few times with his foot, before recoiling at the speed with which a blade extended from the short end of the cross. Sizing up the sword, Ladislaus estimated the length of the blade to be about 3 and a half feet, and picking it up showed it to not be too unwieldy, not balanced too heavily in the direction of blade or pommel. He gave it a few experimental twirls, before practising some thrusts and slices that he'd learned during fencing lessons with his father.

His shadow-dueling was cut short, however, as the weapon began to reshape itself in his hands, causing him to drop it out of curiosity. As with the sword that it transformed into, the large green gem was still prominent, but the weapon had changed completely, now resembling something more like a crossbow, albeit one missing its trigger and stock, than a sword. Noticing that the change began when he brought the sword near one half-opened box, Ladislaus upended it, spreading its contents out, trying to find the piece that matched. After discarding seemingly countless books and tablets detailing the founding of the Cerulan order, he found a book with a similar golden pattern on the cover as the cross he'd been experimenting with, and a parcel attached to it. Removing and unwrapping the parcel, he brought the piece contained within near to the crossbow, and watched as the two parts snapped together, any gaps in the melding fusing together, leaving the finished product complete, as though there were never two parts to it. Picking up a bolt that was enclosed with the second part, Ladislaus loaded the crossbow, aiming at the wall and loosing the bolt. Retrieving the bolt, he found that it had managed to pierce about 4 inches into solid rock at 10 feet. Deeming this penetration capability adequate for slaying Grimm, he smiled and pocketed the bolts. Tapping the green gem, he watched as the stock and trigger for the crossbow detached and fell away, as the crossbow's mechanism folded in, restoring it to the appearance of an ordinary religious icon. Closer examination of the second part revealed a matching gem on the connecting side of it, which appeared to trigger the crossbow mode, a theory soon verified by the cross unfolding back into a crossbow when the gem was pressed, with a bolt pre-loaded.

Smiling, Ladislaus reverted the crossbow to its original cross form before turning his attention to the book. Opening it revealed no name, nor any identifying marks outside of an exploded diagram of the weapon he was testing out on the first page. Continuing, he found a similar diagram of the stock and trigger of the crossbow, revealing a compartment that appeared to hold a cube-like object, possibly a power source of some kind. The next page revealed that what Ladislaus had interpreted as a power source was instead the Dust reservoir for the weapon, should he feel it necessary to alter its function. The pages that detailed what this change was, though, were missing, the book abruptly jumping to the disassembling of the base cross.

He rooted around in the remainder of the box's contents, trying to find some more of the crossbow's Dust canisters, but all the Dust inside them had already long since decayed into uselessness. Taking advantage of his access to the attic, he took time to refill the canisters, before taking a belt to carry them on and adding it to his box of equipment.

Descending the ladder, carefully shifting the box's weight around to avoid dropping himself or it off the ladder, he found his mother waiting for him at the bottom, looking upwards with an air of bemusement at the sight of Ladislaus trying to carry a box down. "You've been busy. Haven't seen much of you all day."

"Figured that was for the best, seeing as Dad was how he was when we left the station."

"I'm not going to say if that was a sensible choice or not, but I think you know what I'm getting at. Find everything you needed?"

Ladislaus nodded, indicating the box he was carrying.

"Good. The headmaster at Beacon expects you to be at the school campus by 10 tomorrow morning. Lucky you that we know important people, huh?"

"Yeah. And… thanks for not flying off the handle like Dad did."

Helia smiled. "The church life isn't for everyone. Some people, like your father, don't quite realise that sometimes. As far as I'm concerned, as long as you don't turn crime into an occupation, it doesn't matter what you do with your life. It's yours to live. Dinner's in the kitchen, if you want any."

"Thanks, Mom. I-" Ladislaus caught himself as he remembered the Cerulan Order's prohibition on expressions of love, familial or otherwise. Helia elicited a small chuckle before responding. "I know, Ladislaus. Now get some rest. Interesting day for you tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>Further notes:<strong>

REVIEW/FOLLOW/FAVOURITE. Please. This is my first work in this universe, and I'm flying blind otherwise. Every little helps, etc.

This section exists to help you gain a look into the inspiration of the foci of the chapter.

Ladislaus: Named for Ladislaus I of Hungary, The Saint-King. Closest thing to an Author Avatar in the story, so feel free to call me on it if I get too Mary Sue with him.

Ladislaus's Weapon: Not yet named. Archaic choice of forms to reflect its age. It hadn't been brought out for centuries, so it never adapted/was upgraded.

Cerulan Order: A non-canon religious organisation. Serves in a role similar to the Salvation Army in the present time, but was closer to the Knights Templar and other such guilds before industrialisation hit. Member count has been decreasing ever since the government cracked down on it during the purge on individuality 80 years before the present. Currently the original order consists of a handful of chapels within Vale, with approximately 90% of faithful spread around the other kingdoms.


	2. Transitum (The Transit)

Ladislaus was woken by a knock at his door. Turning in his bed, he saw his father enter. "Get up. If you want to go to this academy, we leave in twenty minutes." His father's tone made it clear that he'd only recently been talked into helping. Knowing that his father would only wait twenty minutes before leaving Ladislaus to find his own transportation, he quickly armoured himself, performing a last-minute check of his weapon to ensure it still functioned, before loading a duffel bag with anything he couldn't fit on his person, such as the maintenance book for the cross/sword/bow he carried and Dust supplies for it, in addition to spare clothes and toiletries. Stopping briefly to farewell his mother, Ladislaus walked out of the church, to see his father waiting outside by the car. "19 minutes. Almost missed your ride."

"Almost. I'm packed up, in any case. Shall we go?"

Ladislaus loaded his bag into the car, before entering himself. His father paused before starting it, a tell-tale sign that he was going to try to dissuade Ladislaus from entering Beacon at any cost. "Ladislaus, you know the risks of being a Hunter. What I don't think you know is how hard it'll hit your mother and I. If she ends up outliving you, she'll be inconsolable."

Ladislaus swallowed, bringing himself to meet his father's gaze. "Dad, I _want_ to go to Beacon. I get it, you don't want me to, and you're trying to get me to realise the ramifications of my going, in particular how traumatising, or whatever adjective you prefer, it'll be for Mom, but I heard your conversation yesterday. I don't do this, I'll be shut into the church entirely, and what chance will I have to actually help people there? At least at Beacon I could help strengthen the lines, as it were."

Michaeus nodded and started the car. "As long as you know what you're getting into." The drive to the skyport was quiet, both sides believing there was nothing left to say. As they arrived, Ladislaus noticed the throng of people milling around, waiting, he assumed, for the airships travelling to Beacon to arrive. Grabbing his bag, Ladislaus opened the door. "Hey, son?" Ladislaus looked at his father. "Good luck. Don't even think about dying up there either. I _will_ find you if you do." Ladislaus laughed at the sentiment. "I'll keep that in mind. See you, Dad." With that, Ladislaus left the car, and entered the crowd. Shouldering his duffel bag, he worked his way through the crowd, finally reaching the departures desk. The attendant looked up briefly before speaking. "Beacon transit isn't due to arrive for another twenty minutes, and the gate is Gate B."

Ladislaus nodded, stepping away from the desk and walked left. "Gate B is the other way." Ladislaus stopped, turned around, thanked the attendant, and headed in the direction of the gate.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus had just managed to make his way to the gate when the intercom pinged. "All Beacon students report to Gate B now. All Beacon students to Gate B." He watched as the rather large lounge filled quickly with those he would be calling his peers, soon feeling distinctly out of place among the almost-casual clothing that many of them wore, in stark contrast to the plate armour and robes that he wore, even though he was only wearing the cuirass, mail and fauld that made up the principal part of his upper body armour. After a few more minutes, the crowded lounge slowly fell silent, as a voice issued from the gate proper. "To avoid overloading the airships, you will be loaded on, thirty to a ship, in alphabetical order. Would all students whose surnames begin with 'A' please come to the front." Ladislaus listened as the crowd shifted to allow people to get to the front. Hearing a series of beeps from the gate, Ladislaus estimated that the ship still had room to spare. "This flight still has room for 8 more students. Will all students whose surnames begin with 'B' please approach the gate." Eight beeps later, the stewardess who was managing the process closed the gate. "The current ship has reached capacity, another will arrive at the gate momentarily."<p>

Ladislaus watched the crowd grow restless at the realisation that this process could take a while, and decided to migrate towards the edges of the crowd, hoping to avoid any shoving matches that may develop. Reaching the edge of the group was rewarded with the stewardess announcing that the next airship was ready for boarding. "Would all students whose surnames begin with 'B' please return to the front?" Ladislaus watched as the remainder of the 'B's moved back through the crowd towards the gate. He listened to the beeps, with there being about 28 in total. As expected, the stewardess announced that the ship had room for two more students, and for all students whose surnames began with 'C' to approach the gate. Ladislaus was already halfway there when she made the announcement, and made it aboard without incident. Moving towards one of the steel girders that lined the passenger compartment, Ladislaus placed his bag down before leaning against the girder and closing his eyes, confident that nobody would try to talk to the silent man in armour.

His confidence in his unapproachability soon proved misplaced, when he was nudged awake by one of the other students. "Hey, you're actually sleeping? Dude, you're going to _Beacon_. How the hell can you sleep?" Annoyed at this unwelcome intrusion into his rest, Ladislaus decided to shut down the conversation as quickly as he could. "Evidently by leaning against a support in this ship and closing my eyes. Now, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to get back to it. If you still insist on waking me, I would prefer if you did so when we arrive, instead of mid-flight."

"Alright. What's with the armour, though? Just about everyone else is wearing, you know, regular clothes, and you look like you've just stepped out of a history book. Is it an heirloom, or…?"

"What's your name?"

"Leon. Why?"

"Well, Leon, some people don't really go outside much. As a result of this seclusion, they don't really know what constitutes 'normal clothing'. I've been part of a religious order for my entire life, and I figured that the robes we wore weren't really 'in vogue' with the current fashion scene. While the armour may seem a bit antiquated, it's better than a heavy blue robe, on the merit that it _doesn't_ look like I just came from morning services. Does that answer your question? If it does, do me a favour and sod off so I can get some sleep."

Ladislaus noticed the slightly hurt expression on Leon's face, and felt a pang of guilt cross his mind, but refrained from acting on it, instead choosing to let Leon guide the outcome. After a few minutes, Leon finally aired his response. "Damn, man. You're a real dick, you know?"

Ladislaus, now having abandoned any plans of sleeping, replied in a manner he hoped was conciliatory. "Yeah. Isn't everyone when they've just been woken up, though? Seriously, pick your targets better." Extending a hand, Ladislaus introduced himself. "I'm Ladislaus Feher."

Leon, accepting Ladislaus's conversational olive branch, shook his hand. "Leon. Leon Borell."

"A pleasure. How many people do you know going to Beacon?"

Leon paused, considering the question. "Just about everyone I know from Signal's going. I know there's also a few from the other kingdoms, scholarships or something. There's, like, ten who are like you as well."

"'Like me'? From the churches, like me?"

"No, no. Don't know a lot of their backstories. 'Like you' as in 'bypassed the standard application process', like you."

Ladislaus frowned, annoyed at the revelation that he was apparently the only one who came from a religious background to attend Beacon with this class. "How did you know I didn't apply normally?"

"You said you were in a church for your whole life. I assume that meant you didn't go to Signal or any other schools that let you apply. Therefore, you must have bypassed the application process somehow, and gotten a straight shot into Beacon."

Ladislaus smirked, impressed at Leon's deductive capabilities, which seemed totally out of character for the slight, excitable kid he was looking at. "Well done, Mr Borell. I didn't think anyone would take my words at face value there. Your reward is that I respect you." Glancing out the window below, Ladislaus watched the ship pass over Beacon's campus. "Do you know where we're landing in Beacon?" Leon, who had been lost in the view as they passed, looked up at the question, shrugging as he answered. "Not really. I'd heard something about a cliff and getting grouped up there, but not much else." Ladislaus nodded, searching the passing landscape for any sign of the cliffs Leon mentioned. Noticing that Ladislaus wasn't in any mood to talk, Leon took up the gap. "You know, they say these teams are decided by us. If that's true, I'd really like to be on your team. Or even you on mine, whichever works." Ladislaus shot Leon a sideways glance as he spoke. "If that's okay with you, of course." Ladislaus snorted, amused by just how intimidated Leon appeared to be talking to him. "Quibus non est nostrum loca eligere. If we are meant to be grouped together, we shall be."

Leon nodded, apparently displeased by Ladislaus's response, but Ladislaus couldn't tell if his displeasure came from him perceiving the statement as Ladislaus declining, or thinking Ladislaus had insulted him during it. Before Ladislaus had time to clarify, the ship's intercom switched on, notifying those aboard that they would be docking in two minute's time and to ready their belongings to disembark. "Do you know where we're supposed to go when we land?"

Leon picked up his bag, which had been lying next to Ladislaus's for the entire trip, or so it appeared, before cheerily replying. "No, but it can't be that hard to get around. _Somebody_ has to know where we're meant to go." Ladislaus reached down and collected his own bag, before following Leon. For all his excitability, Ladislaus mused, he made some good points at times. Filing off the airship and onto Beacon's campus, he looked around, with no small amount of awe, at the sheer scale of Beacon Academy and its grounds, before moving with a crowd of students towards the school proper. Entering a large, circular building, Ladislaus noted that Beacon must have been receiving airships from more than just the city alone to account for the sheer number of students present, unless the entire student body of Beacon had been brought out for the ceremony. Moving further into the crowd, he kept his eyes focused on the podium at the front, and, by extension, the staff standing nearby. As the flow of students began to thin, the staff moved, with one man in particular moving towards the microphone taking centre stage. Testing the microphone, he began speaking.

"Good day, students, I'll keep this brief. Your travels have brought you here in search of knowledge." _Or to avoid a prison sentence, but knowledge fits the overall reason._ "To hone your skills, and learn new ones. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people, human and Faunus alike. But I look now, and all I see is time ill-managed. Time without direction, without purpose, without control. You assume that whatever you learn here will cure you of this idleness, but the actual lesson lies in how far that knowledge will carry you, both within these walls and without. This lesson will be a long and arduous journey in the learning, and it requires you to take the first step." Having delivered his speech on the incoming students' shortcomings, he left, allowing a woman, presumably his assistant, to continue the address. "Initiation will take place tomorrow morning, for now you have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with Beacon Academy. As initiates, you will be bunked in the ballroom, and it is recommended you leave whatever bags you brought with you there. Finally, would you please refrain from interfering with lessons or with student affairs around the campus, as it is _very_ counterproductive to have to extricate you from the grip of Grimm subjects. That is all." With that, she also left the stage, leaving the students to organise themselves. Slowly, the crowd took on a semblance of order, filing out through another exit, hopefully in the direction of the ballroom.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus was overwhelmed by the size of the school now that he had the opportunity to wander, the recommendation to visit the ballroom forgotten in his awe. Also forgotten was his immediate surroundings, choosing instead to focus on the many towers that denoted Beacon's central building, lit up a brilliant orange in the dusk. "Umm, hey, are you lost?" Ladislaus jumped, swiftly returned from his thoughts by the question. "Sorry for spooking you. You just looked like you could use some directions."<p>

Turning around revealed that the voice belonged to a girl, much shorter than he was, with red hair. "Uh, yeah. Do you know how to get to the ballroom from here?"

"Oh, you're new! That explains everything. Miss Goodwitch doesn't really consider that new people aren't familiar with Beacon yet, and Professor Ozpin tends to leave matters like that to her. Ballroom is in the central building, right wing. You're approaching from the back, so it'll be the wing on your left. Need to know where anything else is? Bathrooms, where to go for initiation, the ballroom? Wait, you just asked that last one. What about the other two?"

Ladislaus chuckled, amused by how eager this girl was to help him. "No, thanks. I'll find everything else you offered as I need to. Thanks for the help though."

"No problem. Good luck in initiation!" She shouted, walking off, no doubt to find some other unsuspecting soul to offer assistance to.

Ladislaus moved to enter the ballroom, deferring his exploration of the campus to after initiation, should he make it. Walking into the ballroom, and finding the floor littered with bedrolls, sleeping bags and other implements of rest, made Ladislaus regret his decision to not acquire one of his own before he left. _To the corners, then. At least you've got a makeshift pillow. _Having found a reasonably comfortable place to establish himself for the night, Ladislaus lay down, resting his head on his bag, and let sleep overtake him.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

This chapter is about half the length of the first, but that's because this one was created to string together the events of the first chapter and the next.

Leon will be more than just a throwaway character in the plot, but will not be a part of Ladislaus's team. He's like an OC Jaune for this fic.


	3. Audacis Aurum Probat (The Test)

Ladislaus, along with every other initiate in the ballroom, shot up, woken from their slumber by the school bell. While they were composing themselves, the intercom switched on, relaying them their instructions for the morning, concluding with the news that initiation would take place at the nearby cliffs. Appraising the crowd of similarly-dishevelled initiates, Ladislaus chose to forgo breakfast in favour of properly armouring himself and finding the locker rooms, which had, according to the intercom, already been assigned. Checking his Scroll for the locker he'd been assigned, he left, now using the map loaded on the scroll to guide him. _Not getting caught out again like last night._

Arriving in the locker room prompted a smile to emerge from his tired image, pleased with just how much room had been afforded for the students' supplies. "Now, locker 3130, how doth ye arrange thy rows?" Ladislaus laughed at the sentence, thinking about how strange it was that, some centuries ago, people spoke like that. Of course, he was not immune to judgement, he knew a language that was barely used outside of his church, and he could carry on a conversation quite expertly in it, if he was to make so bold a claim.

Walking along the rows, he noted in which direction the locker numbers ascended, gradually identifying, after several minutes, where it was. Waving his scroll over the scanner on the front, as directed by the sign on the front, Ladislaus unshouldered his bag and retrieved his armour and weapon, watching with interest as the locker's mechanisms bound themselves to the scroll. When the locker completed its activation, it opened, allowing Ladislaus to place his bag inside. When he turned around to don the armour pieces he wasn't already wearing and attach his weapon, he found another student looking at his armour. "These are some old pieces. What's a newcomer doing with kit like this?"

Ladislaus scowled at the intruder, before taking the pauldron he held. "Do Beacon students normally have better?"

The student picked up another armour piece before answering the question. "What? No, I'm just here killing time before initiation. I wouldn't know what quality the students' gear is."

Ladislaus's scowl softened, now that he knew it wasn't a full student mocking his admittedly archaic equipment. Taking the vambrace being inspected, he continued the questioning. "So, seeing as you're killing time, what's the menu in the dining hall?"

"Dining hall menu? Hell, for the initiates right now, it's ask and you shall receive. You haven't been yet?"

"No. I was planning on skipping it, to be honest. Time flies, and the like. Anyway, you are, aside from taking an unusual interest in my gear, who?"

"I would've opened with that, were you more okay with me checking out your armour. I'm Marcel Maristen, from Vale. And you are?"

Ladislaus quickly finished putting on his armour before responding, intent on minimising the amount of distractions for his fellow. "Ladislaus Feher. Also from Vale. And the armour you're so interested in," Ladislaus switched to his best impression of his father, "is an important relic from the early times of the Cerulan Order, whose value cannot be measured in money alone, and verily, you should be struck down for daring to lay your infidel hands upon it. This armour has weathered the assault of more Grimm than this school's alumni have SLAIN!" Ladislaus paused in his speech, taking in Marcel's reaction, consisting of raised eyebrows and widened eyes. "Really?"

Ladislaus shrugged. "I dunno. I was bored, figured I'd try my hand at being priestly and spinning a tale of great warriors and even greater kills. How'd I do? If you want another, I've got a cross that I can give the same treatment to."

Marcel smirked. "You had me going for a second, I'll admit. I'll gladly hear the tale of your cross though. Let's start with the name. What is it?"

Ladislaus picked up the cross, searching his mind for a name. "Its name is Romphaea Scorpio."

Marcel raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Romphaea Scorpio?"

"Romphaea, to the best of my memory, means 'long sword'. Scorpio means scorpion, but I'm using it as shorthand for 'scorpionem', which means crossbow. Covers my bases. Anyway, to the story." Ladislaus paused a moment, resuming his impression of his father. "Romphaea Scorpio was the name of the sword that has, for so long, been the centrepiece of the Cerulan Order. Ever since Cerulus himself gifted this sword to his son Cratinus, it has been at the side of the leader of the Cerulan Order in battle. When the Order tore itself asunder in the early days of industrialisation, that tradition was forgotten. Now, after centuries of disuse, another Cerulan stands to take the field, and Romphaea Scorpio may now again see the light of day, and the blood of Grimm, which it has longed for so."

Both of them stayed silent for a moment after finishing, before bursting into laughter. Marcel recovered first, giving Ladislaus his review. "Not bad. You'd make a great salesman, if you weren't going to Beacon. Is that your semblance or something? Make things sound badass even if they might not be?"

Ladislaus smiled, glad that he'd already found a friend in the incoming class. "No, though sometimes I wish I did. If I had a semblance like that, I'd be using it on _everything_. Seriously, everything becomes better when you give it an awesome story."

"No kidding. So, what _is_ your semblance, then? Is it something religious, like the ability to light people up, in fire or pure light? Or is it something a little more mundane, like speed or invisibility?"

"No, nothing like that. Though I guess it is sort of like that in a sense. To put a word to it, I'd have to go with-" The intercom came to life again, notifying the two of the imminent initiation at the cliffs. Ladislaus smiled, feigning disappointment in his voice. "Ah, well, looks like we should get going. You hear anything about initiation?"

"Yeah, it's at the cliffs, as you heard, and I've heard some things about teams as well. No idea how that's going to fall, though. Speaking of, there's going to be falling. No idea how much of initiation is falling, though. As an aside, though, you going to tell me your semblance?"

Ladislaus, already halfway out the door, shook his head. "If it really fascinates you that much, I'll tell you after initiation. Perhaps over some kind of food. Food would be nice. You coming?"

Marcel sighed before following Ladislaus. "The one clergyman I meet, and he's secretive and bitches about things he forgoes." Running to catch up to Ladislaus, he shouted. "Wait up!"

* * *

><p>Arriving at the cliffs, Ladislaus and Marcel found the rest of the initiates milling about, waiting for the order to assemble for initiation. As they fell in with the crowd, they were summoned to the cliff edge and directed to stand on stone platforms embedded into the ground. The same white-haired man from the welcoming speech began to speak as they moved. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, or developed skills befitting such a role, and today these skills will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He gestured to the expanse of trees behind him. As with the welcoming speech, his apparent assistant soon stepped in to finish the address. "Many of you, no doubt, have heard rumours of teams. Some of you may have heard that teams are assigned today. You are correct." This affirmation was met with quiet cheers from some of the initiates, which soon quieted. "However, you will not be choosing your teams. Your teammates will be assigned to you. Each team consists of two pairs of students. You will have some choice as to who your partner will be, but your matched pair is beyond your control." The white-haired man again began to talk, taking the speech back from his assistant. "The partner you choose will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon, so you would do wisely to choose somebody who you can work well with. However, your partner is decided by the first person you encounter, be it by locked blades or stumbling across one another. That person will be your partner for the next four years."<p>

Ladislaus and the white-haired man temporarily matched each other's gaze, listening as noises of disapproval and shock radiated down the line of initiates. They broke eye contact as the white-haired man continued. "After you've found a partner, make your way to the northern edge of the forest. You will find a temple there containing several relics. You and your partner are to select a relic and then return to the cliff top. Your choice of relic, as well as your conduct within the forest, will be taken into consideration for your grading." Sounds of disapproval soon turned to worry. "A final warning: You will encounter opposition in the forest. Do not hesitate to destroy them, for they will not hesitate to do the same to you."

Surveying the line, he finished with a simple question. "Does anyone have any questions regarding this exercise?" He smiled, noticing the lack of response. "Good. Assume your positions."

Ladislaus looked around as everyone shifted themselves in preparation for the beginning. Looking to his right, Ladislaus saw Marcel grinning. "You mentioned falling earlier. Is this the falling?"

"See for yourself." Marcel responded, pointing to the far left end of the row, where student after student was being propelled into the air. "Cacō." Turning back to Marcel, Ladislaus laughed. "Now I know why nobody else wears plate. I'm going to be as aerodynamic as a brick in this."

Marcel nodded, resisting the urge to join Ladislaus in laughing at his predicament. "Tell you what: If I see where you come down, I'll come and make sure you're not dead. That work for you?"

Ladislaus shrugged, replying with what he perceived as the most important part of his offer. "If you see my landing."

As Ladislaus finished his response, the student next to him was catapulted over the forest. Marcel noticed this, only having time to bid Ladislaus good luck before he was flung into the air.

Ladislaus, disoriented by the suddenness of his catapulting, hurried to arrange himself into a more aerodynamic state, hoping that the later he reached the ground, the less Aura he'd have to burn minimising the damage from the fall. His armour, on the other hand, seemed to have different plans, drawing Ladislaus closer to the ground at a rate he was very uncomfortable with. Finally surrendering whatever choice he had in the matter, Ladislaus simply arranged himself so that whatever speed he had would be spent breaking through the canopy of the forest, ideally leaving him with enough Aura to combat whatever lay beneath. Casting his mind back to his time among Vale's thieves and scoundrels, he turned himself, angling to enter the trees feet-first, before crossing his arms over his torso and face, to avoid the multitude of scratches that typically accompanied entering dense foliage. Taking one final glance below him, he guessed he had about 7 seconds before he entered the forest. Looking behind him, he could see Marcel, clad in red, waving at him. Returning the gesture, Ladislaus returned his arms to their place just as his legs hit the tree tops.

Crashing through the trees quickly slowed Ladislaus, but not quite enough that he could easily remove himself from the ground after landing. Drawing his weapon, he felt it unfold in his hand, but not into the long sword he was familiar with. Instead, looking down, it had transformed into a ranseur, with the long arm of the cross now playing host to a several-foot long pole, capped with its characteristic triple-blade arrangement. _This is new. Here's hoping it still shoots like a crossbow._ Producing the stock and trigger, refreshingly, still caused, as far as Ladislaus could see, the beginnings of the crossbow metamorphosis. His relief at this continuation of normalcy soon shifted into concern as the stock and trigger refused to integrate into the base weapon, as they previously had.

Discarding the now-useless piece of metal, after retrieving the Dust canister inside it, Ladislaus watched as the weapon continued to shift, ending its transformation looking more like a flintlock rifle than the crossbow he was familiar with. Moving to holster the rifle showed that the weapon still returned to the standard crucifix shape when not in use, which only confused Ladislaus more. Shelving the matter as one to be resolved when time permits, Ladislaus again drew his weapon, more prepared now for the polearm that was to result, before moving deeper into the forest.

Ladislaus had barely left his landing site when Marcel found him. "Told you I'd come looking. Also handily takes care of the pairing thing." Glancing down at Ladislaus's weapon, Marcel smirked. "Doesn't look like much of a long sword."

"Yeah. It wasn't like this when I got it. As you probably guessed, it's also not a crossbow either."

"Heh. Your semblance really _is_ 'messing with things', isn't it?"

"Believe me, if this was my semblance, I would have said something. This is my gear playing up. In any case, we don't have time for it. Let's get to this temple, get the relics, and get back to the cliff so I can take a closer look, alright?"

Marcel shrugged, drawing his own weapons, a pair of schweizerdolchs, seemingly from thin air. "Works for me. Temple's this way." Marcel bounded off into the forest, Ladislaus close behind him. It didn't take long for them to encounter their first Grimm in the forest. "Hey, you hear that?" Marcel stopped, warily looking around. "Yeah, sounds like… dogs?" Ladislaus steadied himself for attack. "What kind of dogs are in this forest?"

"Not dogs, you cross-carrying moron. Beowolves, at best. They come in packs, like to get in close. Not too bad. Could always be Ursa. Look like bears. Not pack animals, but they'll ruin your day all the same. Big, bad, will take a lot of punishment before it even flinches." Marcel changed his weapons, his daggers being replaced by twin auto-pistols. "Choice is yours, my friend. Hold position, let them come to us, or keep moving and keep our eyes wide for them off to our sides or rear. Which do you want?"

Ladislaus looked around, sizing up the environment. "Not great for defense where we are now. Let's keep moving. You say Ursa are big. Big usually means slow. Worst comes to worst, we can outrun it." Cracking a smile, Ladislaus added. "And I can outrun you. So I say we move. That way, even if nothing comes up, we're still closer to the temple than if we stay put."

Marcel nodded, before sprinting off. "Alright, let's go. On me." Ladislaus quickly gave chase, not willing to lose his guide in the forest.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Marcel! Wait up, dammit! You're not in plate like I am!" Gradually, Ladislaus slowed, his exhaustion taking priority over his need to find Marcel. Dropping to his knees, Ladislaus took a series of heavy breaths, trying to ready himself for more running as quickly as he could. In between breaths, though, he heard those same howls that prompted his and Marcel's flight.<p>

Bringing himself to his feet, he switched his weapon to its ranged configuration, loading a Dust canister into the newly-opened receptacle. _Probably should have checked what Dust type that was._ _Doesn't matter now_. Levelling his rifle at the shadows in the trees, Ladislaus checked for Grimm. Seeing a slight shift, Ladislaus fired, watching as the round exploded in an icy burst on the tree next to it. _Ice. Good to know._ Suddenly, the shadow gained voice. "Hey! Check your fire! There's more than just Grimm in this forest!"

Ladislaus immediately lowered his weapon upon this revelation. "Sorry, kinda out of breath! Mind stepping into the light? I'd love to know who I'm shooting at!"

The voice responded, seemingly exasperated by his request. "Alright! Normally I don't wander out in front of people who try and kill me, but I'm willing to make an exception!"

The shadows Ladislaus was watching so intently soon resolved themselves, revealing another student pairing. "Ave, ladies. I'm Ladislaus. How did a group like you come to be?"

The loud one, also the tallest of the two, whom Ladislaus had been talking with, took the opportunity to answer. "Same as how you found your partner, I presume. We met, and we stuck together. You do have a partner, right?"

"Yeah, I fell behind though. Honestly, I'm pretty glad I found you two. The alternative is that you were Grimm, and I don't quite fancy my chances in a forest. In any case, you wouldn't happen to be going by the temple, would you?"

The quieter of the two, who was still partially shrouded in the bushes, responded. "We still have yet to visit. I doubt the observers will look fondly on a group of three in the forest, however."

Ladislaus, along with the other girl, looked around at this mention of 'observers', before returning to the conversation. "Let the observers think what they will. Worst case, they throw me out and punish you for helping. Best case, you get a bonus for playing the hero and aiding somebody you've never met before, and I get chastised for falling behind. So, my deal is: You two lead the way to the temple, and I'll alternate between staying out of your way and helping kill whatever stumbles across you. Sound good?"

The two girls briefly stepped back into the trees, apparently to discuss the offer. Stepping back out, the taller one shaking her head, the shorter one spoke. "We accept your offer. Catrin, though," nodding towards the other member of her pair, "would like you to know that if you get in the way, she's not going to check her strikes on your account."

"Duly noted. So, if your friend's Catrin, you are…? Entirely in the interest of maintaining simplicity in communication."

The two switched speaking again, with Catrin finishing the introductions. "She's Roxane. We both know what we're capable of, combat-wise, so you're the wild-card. You want to get in on fighting and not get hit, I'd advise you start sharing."

Ladislaus blinked, surprised at the lack of cordiality from the two. "Alright. No idea if you know some of the words I'm about to use. My weapon, as you can see, is a rifle. Single-shot, with about three seconds between shots. Dust-powered. In close, it turns into a ranseur. Sort of like a trident." To help with the explanation, Ladislaus shifted his weapon into its ranseur form. "One big spike, two cutting blades flanking it. Good for stabbing, cutting, and light acrobatics. Folds up to a cross, like so." Ladislaus gestured as the ranseur shrank down to its holstered state. "Seeing as the theme is 'sharing is caring', you two have any interest in telling me what yours are?"

Catrin replied, still apprehensive. "I don't see what concern it is of yours what our weapons can do." Ladislaus shook his head. "You want me to be effective in battle, unless I'm mistaken, so I need to know what yours are and how they function. After all, isn't that why you wanted me to share what mine is?"

Roxane looked at Catrin and shrugged. "He's right, you know. It's not like yours is any great trade secret or anything. I'll start, if it makes you feel better."

Roxane drew her weapons, a pair of submachine guns. "My weapons, I call them Placentes, splits into these when I want to keep my distance, and, should I want to get up close and personal," Roxane flicked a switch on their sides before flipping them around in her hands, "changes into a similarly matching set of falcata, which I keep nice and sharp. No point in having that which won't cut. When they're not being used, they don't fold into any special shape. I just holster them at my back. Your turn, Catrin."

Catrin ground her teeth, loudly enough that Roxane and Ladislaus could hear, before beginning. "This is Trochós, my wheel. It's a whip. Nice and multi-purpose. Don't get any ideas, I'm not going to use it for fun."

Ladislaus chuckled before restoring his own weapon to its ranseur form. "See, was that so hard? Now, we should get going. Some of those changes were... not exactly quiet, and we probably drew some Grimm. You lead, I'll watch the rear."

The trio continued through the forest, soon exiting into a clearing, with the temple before them. Catrin sighed, thankful for the loss of the extra person. "According to you, your partner was heading here. If that's true, and he notices you weren't with him, he's probably still here. Good hunting." Ladislaus watched as Catrin beckoned for Roxane to follow, entering the temple and exiting minutes later, relic in hand. As they left, Ladislaus walked towards the temple, keeping watch for any sign of Marcel. Looking inside, Ladislaus saw a collection of items on plinths, arranged in a semi-circle. Looking at the items he could choose from, he selected a lantern, hanging it on the hook normally reserved for his weapon. Walking out of the temple, he saw Marcel, clearly exhausted, staggering out of the woods. "There you are. Dammit man, for somebody in plate you are _really_ hard to find. Get a relic?"

Ladislaus nodded, pointing at the lantern hanging off his armour. "Yeah. How long were you looking?"

"Since I got here and you didn't show up. I figured you wouldn't go off the route, but maybe I was wrong."

"I don't think I fell off the route. In any case, I fell in with another pair to get here. You find any Grimm?"

"A couple. Not much for running, though. They stopped when they lost the scent."

"Thank god. I was beginning to think it was empty."

"That's a _bad_ thing?"

"Come on, Marcel. If the Grimm we're familiar with aren't there, then it's one of two things. One, the other teams are stupidly loud and drew them all in, or two, something much worse is out there. I'd love option one to be true, but I doubt anyone would be noisy for the sake of it. Which would mean option two's right. And that's terrifying no matter how you spin it."

Marcel, having recovered from his exertions looking for Ladislaus, stood and approached him. "Yeah, you've got a point there. Anyway, you alright with that, or do you want me to carry it?"

"No, I'm good. Let's get back to the cliffs before something goes _really _wrong." Marcel nodded, eager to get back to somewhere less risky. As they prepared to leave, a series of howls resonated from behind them. "Goddammit. I think they followed you, Marc."

Marcel raised an eyebrow at the noise. "No, mine were Ursa. God knows who drew in Beowolves."

"Terrific. Think we should help them out?"

"They're fighting Beowolves."

"What's your point?"

"Beowolves are pretty small fry on the scale of Grimm. Ursa or Boarbatusk? Sure, that's challenging. Beowolves? They aren't worth the swings."

"You know we're being watched, don't you? If you want, take the relic, head back to the cliffs, and I'll catch you up. I reckon whichever idiot's running from Beowolves can use the help."

Marcel looked back towards the cliff, before shaking his head and drawing his daggers. "We're not going to be able to finish until both of us get there, are we? Let's get this over with."

Hearing the rustling in the bushes grow louder, and the bushes within view begin to shake, Ladislaus and Marcel steadied themselves. The bushes parted, revealing two students, one of which made Ladislaus lower his ranseur briefly. "Leon? What the…" But his surprise at Leon's presence dispersed quickly, replaced by confusion at how he'd manage to draw two, four, seven, ten Beowolves with him. Leon's eyes lit up as he saw Ladislaus, and he began running with renewed vigour. "Ladislaus! They're everywhere! Me and Erik barely got away from most of them! Help would be nice!"

Marcel looked askance at Ladislaus. "You know this guy?"

"One conversation does not a knowing make. But I guess I've got to save him now."

Ladislaus levelled his ranseur at the mouth of the nearest Beowolf as Leon and his partner ran past. Thrusting forwards as the Grimm drew nearer, the ranseur effortlessly entered the Beowolf's mouth and exited the back of its head. Glancing over at Marcel as he withdrew the ranseur's spike from the corpse, Marcel was jumping from Beowolf to Beowolf, using his daggers to anchor himself as he opened fire with his pistols, vanishing them whenever he changed targets. Ladislaus stood, temporarily mesmerised by the acrobatics and apparent teleportation Marcel's weapons exhibited.

However, the display was cut short as a Beowolf leapt at Ladislaus, roaring. His mind again alerted of the ongoing threat, Ladislaus jumped backwards, evading the Grimm's attack, before swinging at it. The Beowolf reared up, rendering Ladislaus's attempt to sweep out its front legs pointless. Not wanting the momentum from such a strike to go to waste, Ladislaus twirled the polearm about his head, bringing it to his shoulder in its rifle form, before firing one shot into the beast's chest. Watching the icicles emanate out from the point of impact confirmed that the rifle still had the canister of ice Dust loaded in. Switching the rifle to his right shoulder, Ladislaus continued to fire, watching as blossoms of ice appeared wherever his bullets struck the animal.

This fusillade continued, ceasing only when the canister of Dust that had been powering the rifle's mechanisms was ejected. Inserting a fresh canister, Ladislaus continued to fire, stopping as the Beowolf staggered under the force of the rounds and collapsed. Spinning the rifle again, Ladislaus returned it to its ranseur form, stabbing the Grimm through the eye with it. _Can never be too careful_. Withdrawing the blade, Ladislaus swung at another Beowolf, this one not quite as quick as its pack mate, the ranseur tearing through flesh and bone alike, removing the Grimm's forelimbs with the same ease one might have cutting through a sheet of paper, before ending its newfound misery with a spike through its skull. Searching the clearing for more, Ladislaus was curiously disappointed by the lack of Grimm to kill, before looking over to Marcel, standing triumphantly amid a group of Beowolves, all either dead or in their death throes.


	4. Quattuor Faciunt Collegium (The Team)

"You were quick." Ladislaus remarked, admiring his partner's work.

"It's amazing how much you can do when you're on their backs. For pack creatures, they aren't the most cooperative sort." Marcel replied, slitting the throat of a Beowolf that had only just regained its footing. Confident that no other Grimm had plans on fighting, Marcel and Ladislaus turned to look for Leon and his partner. "Hey, Leon? Everything's dead, you can come out now." Hearing nothing, Ladislaus and Marcel walked towards the temple, where Leon and his partner were presumably in hiding.

Checking inside the temple yielded nothing, save for another relic missing. Marcel grimaced at the sight. "Cheeky bastard. Used us to fix his screw-up, and cut his losses in the process. Come on, let's go." Waving Ladislaus to the exit, Marcel left. Taking one final look around the temple's relic room, Ladislaus followed him out. "To the cliffs?"

Marcel nodded. "If we're quick, we can still catch up to Leon and co, and give them all colours of flak for that stunt they pulled."

"Sounds good to me. Don't lose me this time, though. That way we're not wasting time looking."

Marcel looked back at Ladislaus. "Wouldn't dream of it. Last time I let you go, you came out with two girls. Damned if I'm letting you have that luck again. You still have the lantern?"

Ladislaus reached down to the hook, where he placed it earlier. "Yep. Let's go."

The two rushed off into the forest, in pursuit of success and the student that, in Marcel's opinion, cheated them. While Ladislaus disagreed with the idea that Leon 'cheated' them, he still was annoyed that Leon refused to enter the fray when he was reinforced, choosing instead to leave two other students to deal with what beasts he'd stirred.

Chasing Leon's shadow through the trees towards the cliff they were all initially flung from, Ladislaus and Marcel dispatched any Grimm that could keep pace, while simply evading any that couldn't. When Ladislaus began to falter, Marcel slowed down somewhat, reminding him of Leon's trickery, before returning to his standard pace when Ladislaus began to recover. By following this pattern of run-jog-encourage-repeat, they made it to the cliffs just as Leon and his partner had started climbing. Marcel spotted Leon at the foot of the cliff and, forgetting about Ladislaus, charged at him. "LEON, YOU PRICK! GET BACK HERE!" Leon, turning at the insult, saw Marcel covering the fifty feet between the treeline and the base of the cliff with alarming speed, and redoubled his efforts at climbing. What little distance he managed to get off the ground was soon negated, as Marcel, thirsty for retribution, leapt up the cliff and yanked Leon down by his ankle.

* * *

><p>When Leon's head stopped swimming, he found Marcel and Ladislaus standing over him, with his partner still diligently climbing the cliff. Noticing his eyes open, Marcel crouched down next to Leon and began the trial. "That was a cheap trick you pulled at the temple, Leon." Pausing to register the fear in Leon's eyes, he let Ladislaus pick up the slack. "Honestly, that seemed beyond you. I am surprised, and a little hurt." Marcel continued, drawing one of his daggers for effect. "I wonder, what would make up for us having to clean up <em>your<em> mess?" Sliding the handle of the dagger along Leon's cheek, Marcel let Ladislaus continue. "While neither of us were injured, myself and my partner are of the opinion that something needs to be done, to balance the scales." Ladislaus briefly shifted his attention from Leon to the trees, gauging how long before their planned retribution arrived. Marcel shifted his grip on the dagger, holding it in a manner more conducive to skinning an animal. "I was of the opinion that we leave our own mark on you, as an exchange for all the marks we saved you from. Laz, on the other hand, was more forgiving. His plan should be arriving any minute now."

Marcel looked up at Ladislaus, who raised two fingers. "Two minutes, in fact. In the interest of fair play, I'm going to give you a little handicap." Marcel stabbed his dagger through a loose section of Leon's clothing. "Now, me and Laz are going to start climbing. Two minutes from now, two Ursa are going to come through those trees, and they're going to smell the assorted saps that are on that knife, and now your clothes. You might not know this, but Ursa are _very_ good at climbing. In effect, you have two minutes to free yourself and get up this cliff, or else you're in for a very long, very painful fight. Good luck." Marcel punctuated his explanation with an icy grin, before standing up and walking towards the cliff. Ladislaus shook his head disapprovingly, like an adult would to an unruly child, before following. Finding handholds to grip on the cliff, Ladislaus and Marcel began their ascent, Ladislaus counting down the seconds until the Ursa arrived just loud enough for Marcel to hear, thinking that Leon didn't need the extra pressure such a commentary would impart.

"Ninety." Ladislaus said, struggling to maintain his balance on the cliff. Marcel looked down at the base and snorted. "Our friend's only just got free. He's making good time." Looking up, Leon's partner was still stoically climbing, as though ignoring Leon's plight might mean he would no longer have to work with him. Ladislaus frowned at this neglect, voicing his concern. "You know, that's your partner down there. The least you could do is offer support." Leon's partner continued to climb, much to Ladislaus's consternation. Switching to a calmer, more forgiving tone, he continued. "Look, he's a coward, but he doesn't quite deserve to be Ursa bait. That was a bit excessive on my part. Go back and help him, and you might get shifted to a team with more… compassionate students. I know some people, I'll see what strings I can pull. Deal?"

This offer appeared to appeal to Leon's partner, giving him pause enough for Ladislaus and Marcel to overtake him. Looking down at Leon, still frantically putting distance between himself and the ground, his partner slid down the cliff face to meet him. Marcel looked at Ladislaus with a bemused expression. "Good deed for the day. Doesn't balance out what we did to Leon, but it's partway there, don't you think?" Ladislaus nodded, quickly glancing down to check both the relic he was carrying and Leon's position on the cliff. "Yep. As a religious man, we have done some good to balance out our evil. But enough dwelling on that. We're about twenty feet from finishing initiation, so let's put some effort in."

Ladislaus crested the clifftop first, turning around and offering his hand for Marcel to grab, pulling him up as well. Walking towards the white-haired man and his assistant, Ladislaus produced the lantern he and Marcel had selected. "Ladislaus Feher and Marcel Maristen, reporting as required, with the relic we were ordered to bring." The white-haired man smiled, collecting the lantern and handing it to his assistant, before returning to the footage he was watching on his scroll. "Well done. Expect to be informed of your team assignment later today. You are free to explore Beacon's grounds until then." Marcel nodded, walking down the path towards Beacon. Ladislaus paused, intending to question the man. "Sir, may I ask a question?" The white-haired man responded, not turning to acknowledge Ladislaus's presence. "It's Professor, and by all means, Mr. Feher."

"Thank you, Professor. Does Beacon contain a chapel of any kind, or will I have to make my own arrangements regarding religious duties?"

"What a peculiar question to hear from you. After all, did you not join Beacon as an escape from the trappings of your Order?"

"With respect, Professor, I only wished to make a difference. I do not believe making a difference and being a member of the Cerulans to be mutually exclusive. Trying to make a difference from within the Cerulan Order is a different matter."

"I suppose they are not. As to your question, Beacon is a secular institution, and as such does not contain any specialised religious facilities. However, Beacon does provide board to its students, and what you do in the privacy of your dorm room is your business alone. So, should your teammates agree, you could establish a shrine of some kind within your dorm room. Just remember that Beacon Academy will not go to lengths to accommodate whatever your religion requires."

Ladislaus nodded, satisfied at the answer he had received, thanking the Professor before returning to Beacon.

* * *

><p>"All first-year students please report to the auditorium. Team assignment will now take place." Ladislaus looked up at the intercom from his position on the ballroom floor, putting away the book on his weapon, before walking to the auditorium.<p>

Finding Marcel rather easily amid the crowd, Ladislaus stood next to him. "Here's hoping we get some decent people." Marcel said, turning to look at his partner. "Here's hoping." Ladislaus echoed, uncertain of the prospects. Would the trick that he and Marcel pulled on Leon come back to bite them? Ladislaus hoped not.

"Now that you're all present, let's get underway." The white-haired Professor said, having appeared onstage from seemingly nowhere. "The first team, having brought the candle and the lantern, consists of Ladislaus Feher, Marcel Maristen, Roxane Mallor, and Catrin Sabelline. You are team Limerick, and you will be led by Ladislaus Feher." The four stepped onto the stage as their names were called, with Ladislaus's face paling as he saw the pair that was to make up the other half of his team. Leaning towards Marcel, he whispered. "Those two are the ones that found me in the forest." Marcel's grin widened at this information, evidently planning something less-than-wholesome. "Neat. Now I'll get to have a shot at them, unless you've managed to, ah, 'get to know' them."

Ladislaus shook his head, refocusing his attention on the Professor just in time to hear himself be nominated to lead. Marcel was first to react, clapping him on the back. Roxane and Catrin appeared to have the same realisation that Ladislaus did about their past encounter, and shook their heads, disquieted by this turn of events. Ladislaus himself stood, rigid as a statue, as he processed the news, trying to figure out what in the seven hells possessed the Professor to declare him the leader. He shouldn't even be at Beacon, let alone put in any command responsibility. He had a file in Vale PD's servers that attested to that. Shaking himself back to reality, he led his team back into the crowd, resolving to interrogate the Professor about this peculiar choice.

Ladislaus remained in a partial disconnect from reality for most of the rest of the ceremony, not hearing, much less caring, about the other teams that were formed. He waited until he heard the Professor dismiss the students, before telling his team to get their things, and his, and find their dorm. He didn't tell them that he planned to discuss his leadership with the Professor. Walking towards the stage, he paused at the edge while waiting for the Professor and his assistant to finish their conversation. After they had continued their conversation, near-oblivious to his presence on the floor, he coughed loudly, hoping to get their attention before he learned too much about Beacon's inner workings. His ploy worked, as they both glared at him for interrupting their discussion. The assistant was first to respond, however, anger evident in her voice. "Is there something we can help you with, Mr. Feher?"

"Possibly, ma'am. Was some kind of error made in the selection process?"

She raised an eyebrow at the question, confusion replacing the anger on her face. "No, each student pair was assigned according to their conduct. Why?"

"If your working was correct, and no errors were made, why was I made leader of my team? I have a record that, should the urge strike you to look, I believe, would disqualify me from any position above the rank-and-file."

The Professor smiled, sensing where the conversation was heading, glancing at his aide. "I'll handle this, Glynda. Ladislaus, you think yourself unsuited for leadership on account of your criminal record. While that may be the case, I wish to see you declared rehabilitated by the justice system as quickly as possible. With the exception of your conduct at the base of the cliffs, I see no reason for you not to lead. If nothing else, appointing you leader of your team may inspire some hidden penchant for responsibility that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Does that answer your question?"

Ladislaus recoiled at the sheer volume of words the Professor used. Outside of speeches, he'd never been this verbose, even with Ladislaus's parents. "Uh, yes Professor. I'll remember that reasoning. Thank you." Ladislaus bowed, backing away from the Professor and 'Glynda', leaving the auditorium with haste he didn't know he was capable of.

* * *

><p>He caught up with his team outside the dormitory building, taking his bag off Marcel. "Thanks for that. What floor are we on?"<p>

Catrin spoke, an air of impersonality present in her voice. "Scroll says second-top floor. I'd wager that as we go through Beacon, we drop floor by floor, with fourth-years on the first floor."

Ladislaus nodded, leading his team in. Marcel moved to walk with him. "You know, Catrin isn't happy you're the leader of our 'merry band'. Thinks it should have been her."

Ladislaus sighed, briefly looking over his shoulder to see how close she was, before adjusting his voice for her to hear. "You know, she's not the only one. I have no idea why I was picked. I asked him about it, and he said that 'all will become clear in time.'" Ladislaus decided that his team didn't need the whole truth behind his selection. Using the elevator doors as a mirror, he checked Catrin for a reaction, seeing only a faint falling of her shoulders. He mentally re-checked the explanation he gave, and suppressed a laugh as he realised he had just said not even pure chance wanted Catrin to be leader.

Waiting for his team to enter, he waved his scroll over the panel, listening as the system greeted him, before closing the doors once all four were present and travelling to their assigned floor. The ride up was quiet, with no member willing to try and break the silence that befell them. Ladislaus felt that nothing needed to be said at the present, as all issues that he could see were taken care of. Looking at Marcel, he could tell Marcel was only quiet because nobody else had opened their mouth. He couldn't try and determine why Roxane and Catrin were so quiet without giving away the fact he was looking, so he shrugged at Marcel. "Something you want to say?"

Marcel looked at the display, checking what floor they were on. "You said, before we left for the forest, that you would tell me your semblance when we finished. We've been finished for a few hours now. You feel like sharing?"

Ladislaus grinned, impressed at Marcel's memory. "Alright, fair's fair. My semblance is… a little difficult to demonstrate. If you want the name, it's Mimicry. I can emulate the semblance of anyone else, I just need skin-to-skin contact, and it's a little weaker than the original user's own semblance. At the earliest opportunity, I'll try and find a way, if you wish, for me to prove it. Now, I don't believe you told me yours."

Marcel nodded. "Yep. Mine's Mastery. Similar rules to yours, now that I think about it. Skin-to-skin contact, and I can learn everything somebody knows about what they consider their job. So, for example, if I was to touch a soldier, I would learn everything he has about the art of combat in about a second and a half. If I touched a teacher, everything he knew about what he taught. It's ridiculously cool, except I can't consciously recall anything I learn this way. That's the Achilles heel of it."

Catrin piped up, the silence having been shattered. "What good is it if you can't remember any of it?"

"Was just about getting to that, thanks. While I can't recall anything I… absorb, for want of a better term, it becomes instinctive. So I'd be able to pick up a rifle, in the soldier's case, and be able to use and repair it to the same degree he could without needing to think about it. Now, seeing as our back row's open for business, what are your semblances?"

Roxane shifted awkwardly from foot to foot at the question, before speaking. "Control. My semblance is Control."

The name drew interest from Ladislaus and Marcel, who voiced, almost in unison, their curiosity. "What's it do?"

Roxane seemed to shrink in the face of their interest, a feat which surprised Ladislaus, as he wasn't aware she could have gotten any shorter. In a quieter voice than her standard, she elaborated. "I can take over the mind of any Grimm I touch. I just need to be in constant contact with it, and it's mine to do with as I please." Her voice rose back to its normal volume as she spoke, with what sounded like arrogance creeping in as she finished. Ladislaus raised his eyebrows at the revelation, impressed by the scope of it. "Sounds handy. Does it work for all Grimm, or just some?"

Marcel's reaction was more concerned. "Really? 'Does it work on all Grimm'? What about people? Because I might have some serious doubts about you being near me if it does."

Roxane frowned, shaking her head. "Thought that would be asked. It works on everything up to young Nevermores. I haven't been able to try it on anything else. And it doesn't work on people. They have too much willpower to be dominated effectively." Noticing that Marcel remained unconvinced by her explanation, she added one final sentence. "Yes, I have tried it on humans and Faunus, and they were uncooperative the entire time. Satisfied yet?"

Marcel relaxed slightly, confident that his body wouldn't be hijacked by this girl. "Thank God. And yes, that was satisfactory. Catrin, is yours just as spooky, or is it a bit more mundane?"

Catrin snorted at the choice of words. "All of your semblances involve messing with people's minds or Auras, so I'd say mundane is out of the question here. That said, mine is more grounded in the real world. I'd gladly demonstrate, but I might bisect this building if I tried it."

Marcel's eyes lit up at the prospect that this semblance might be that destructive, almost asking her to go ahead before he was cut off by Ladislaus. "How much space do you need?"

"How much do you want to see?"

Ladislaus cast his eyes to the floor, deciding between indulging his curiosity and looking for the full release, or looking for a simple answer of what it could do. Bringing his eyes to hers, he responded simply, with a hint of worry for what he may have invited. "All of it."

Catrin raised an eyebrow. This request seemed out of character for the boy she'd come across in the forest. "Okay then. Simplest place would be the forest, I doubt any of the buildings have enough uninterrupted floor space for me to work without busting a support. Still keen?"

Roxane and Marcel, both suddenly fascinated by Catrin's enigmatic descriptions, looked at Ladislaus, silently pleading for him to say yes. "Do we have time today, or do we have to settle for a description?"

Roxane, wasting no time, pulled up her scroll. "Alright, we don't have classes until tomorrow, and dinner, or at least I think that time is dinner, isn't for another few hours yet. We can dump our things in our room, head out and see Catrin's semblance, and be back by then."

Ladislaus shrugged, looking at Catrin. "Looks like we have time to." Marcel and Roxane high-fived at the news. "How far away should we be to not get hurt?"

Catrin smiled wryly. She'd wondered how long it'd take them to work out that if she could cut the building in half, she could do a number on them if they were caught in it. Extending her hand out, palm up, she continued. "Put your hands on mine. I worked this technique out so you should be able to be as close as you want to." Each member of the group put their hands on top of hers, before she closed off the stack by placing her other hand on the top, as though she was about to clap. Closing her eyes, everyone else watched as a semi-transparent field, likely Catrin's Aura, manifested around her, making her appear like a mirage, before spreading from their hands to encompass them. Opening her eyes, the field dissipated. "Done. If I did this right, you should be fine when I let loose."

The elevator pinged, signifying that they'd reached their floor. "So, is this permanent, or does it have to be reapplied?" Ladislaus was still inspecting himself, trying to discern if the field was present. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never needed to blast-proof anyone before. Even at Lodestar, I only really used my semblance when I knew that nobody was close enough for me to hit them with it, or when they could move to evade it. This'll be a first."

The four walked along the halls, counting off room numbers as they searched for theirs. "Hey, is ours 452?"

"No, Marcel. Ours is 473. God knows how you can't remember that."

"Hang on, I know how the numbers are going now. Just a sec, I'll see if I'm right."

Marcel sprinted to the end of the corridor, making a right at the end. The remaining three shared a look, before shrugging and continuing their search. Just as they reached the end of the corridor, Marcel turned the corner, almost running into Ladislaus. "Found it! Oh, sorry man. It's this way." Waving for the team to follow him, Marcel sprinted to the corridor after the one they were planning to search. "It's down here." Darting down the indicated corridor, Marcel pointed into a room near the end of the corridor. "In here." Ladislaus and the girls walked into the room, with Marcel already lying on one of the four beds. "Home sweet home, right?"

Ladislaus looked around, noticing how small the room was, only really big enough to fit four people and room for their belongings. "Domus dulcis domus, indeed. Seems a little tight. How are we going to set this up? I can understand if Roxane and Catrin would rather set themselves up so they have some privacy, but if they'd rather not…"

Catrin cut in when she noticed Marcel's smile widen. "I think we'll take the privacy option. You and Marcel take one side, we'll take the other."

Ladislaus shifted his gaze to Roxane. "Work for you?"

Roxane nodded, placing her bags down on the bed furthest away from the boys.

"It's settled then. In the interests of safety, though, and I don't mean to imply you have any ill intents towards the girls, and I'm sure you wouldn't phrase them as such, you take the bed nearest the wall on our side, Marcel. Myself and Catrin will take the centre beds." Marcel groaned at this upsetting of his plan, but moved when Catrin drew her weapon. Watching him vacate the bed, Catrin inclined her head, sardonically thanking him for his adjustment.

Thinking back to his encounter on the first evening of his time at Beacon, he directed Marcel to check the closet. "I saw some students wearing uniforms. Seeing as they aren't in the open, they're likely in there."

"The uniforms, or the students? Because if it's the students, then this closet must be _huge_."

Roxane threw something from her partially-unpacked belongings at him. "That was terrible. Never do that again."

Marcel stopped briefly to pick up the object thrown at him, revealing it to be a shoe. "You're wearing combat boots, and you need _more _shoes?"

"A set for every occasion. Now, open the closet so we can see the uniforms." Roxane punctuated her command with her readying another shoe for throwing. Marcel, not wishing to be struck by any more items of clothing, acquiesced, opening the closet door to reveal two pairs of uniforms for each student, fitted to their size as well. Ladislaus collected the largest male and both sizes of female uniforms, passing the female ones to Catrin to decide which of the two got what size.

Some time later, the four had finalised their living arrangements, with Ladislaus and Catrin having split the room down the middle into a male and female section, with a makeshift barricade, made from privacy screens and whatever they could scrounge from the hall, separating the two. "So, Catrin, about your semblance…"

"I told you earlier, I'll show you in the forest."

Roxane quickly checked her scroll. "Dinner's not for another hour and a half. We should have time, if only a little."

Ladislaus nodded. "So, those of us who want to see Catrin's semblance in action, head on out. I'm going to make a quick arrangement." Watching as his team left, he pulled out his scroll, having searched the 'recent students' list for girls fitting the description of the one who found him on his first night. He scrolled through until he found one name, which also fit the profile of a girl whose initiation footage the Professor had been paying careful attention to, even during Ladislaus's own.

"Ruby Rose… Those petals certainly aren't normal. Let's see what secrets I can glean." Bringing up team RWBY's room number, Ladislaus left.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Hey all, Zip here. I'll get down to business, so that I can get back to editing chapter 5, which'll be going up tomorrow.

Characters:

_Ladislaus Feher_: Named for St. Ladislaus of Hungary, the Saint-King, who was incredibly moral and chivalrous. According to Hungarian ecclesia of the time, probably the most pious and Christian man that ever lived. Ladislaus is not quite so high-minded.

_Marcel Maristen_: Named for St. Marcellin Champagnat.

_Catrin Sabelline_: Named for St. Catherine of Alexandria.

_Roxane Mallor_: Named for St. Roch.

And there we have team Limerick's theme: Christian saints.

As for their personalities, they are not going to be consistent with the original saint they take their name from. I will try and incorporate parts of the saint's history into their own actions and lives, however. They borrow more from people (or groups) that I've known.

Until next chapter,

Zip


	5. Exempli Gratia (The Demonstration)

Walking down to team RWBY's room, Ladislaus rehearsed how he'd manage the conversation. "Hi, I'm Ladislaus. I just wanted to stop by and say thanks… no, seems a little weird." Looking up, he saw RWBY's room number. "Too late to change. Let's do this."

Standing in front of the team's dorm, he knocked out the phrase "shave and a haircut", eschewing the finish in favour of seeing if anyone was inside. As he was about to leave, the door opened, revealing a girl dressed in the school's uniform, with a mess of black hair spilling down her shoulders, decorated only by a bow that Ladislaus couldn't help but notice appeared to be moving. Chalking it up to a trick of the light, he spoke. "Hello?"

"Hey… is Ruby here?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "She's sleeping. Why?"

Ladislaus continued to study the girl's movement, trying to discern an attitude from it, but whenever he appeared to have figured it out, she shifted slightly, throwing his prediction off. "Not exactly a talkative one, I see. I've got to talk with her about something. Could you wake her up for me?"

"Name?"

"Ladislaus."

The girl stepped away from the door, allowing Ladislaus the opportunity to look at the architecture of the beds they had arranged. They had made bunk beds out of the four single beds that were standard for the rooms, with one set being supported chiefly by what appeared to be stacks of books, with the other having the top bed tied to the ceiling, dangling over the one bed that appeared to be unaltered from its original position. His eyes were soon drawn back to the door as the red-haired girl he'd talked to appeared, albeit not in the uniform he'd last seen her in. Rubbing her eyes, she began the conversation. "Who are you? Blake said you were 'Ladislaus', but that can't be your name… can it?"

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at her disbelief before responding. "Yes, it is my name, but I'm here to ask a favour of you. Is that alright?"

Ruby dropped the image of tiredness she'd been displaying, replacing it with intense curiosity. "Why do you want me to do something for you? No offense or anything, but that's the sort of thing you ask Blake for." Indicating the black-haired girl, she continued. "She's all sneaky and stuff, so I'm sure she could do whatever you wanted me to. Not to say I can't, though. If you really want me to do this thing, I guess I could, just give me a second to -" Noticing her start to speak faster as she went on, Ladislaus stopped her. "No, it's nothing physical. I just need your semblance."

This sentence stunned Ruby into silence, and caused Blake to look up from her book and carry on Ruby's side of the conversation. "You want her what?"

Ladislaus looked at the reactions of the two with bemusement. "I need to borrow Ruby's semblance for a bit. It's nothing major. It's not like you won't have it for a while or anything." This reassurance didn't seem to help matters, as Ruby still stared at him, slightly unnerved by the proposition, and Blake had put aside her book, now focusing herself solely on the conversation.

Ruby looked over to Blake, as though she might hold the miracle answer to Ladislaus's request. Blake looked Ladislaus up and down, seemingly sizing him up, before looking back to Ruby and shrugging. Turning her attention back to Ladislaus, Ruby looked at him. "What would you need my semblance for?"

"My team's testing something out in the forest. I'm not too confident in the safety measure that's been set up, so I'm improvising my own."

"And that needs my semblance because…"

"You're the only person I can think of who could possibly outrun an explosion."

Ruby smiled, adopting a cockier stance. "I guess I am." The confusion of the situation briefly put aside, her eyes flashed with recognition. "Wait, you're the guy from yesterday! Hi there! How do you like Beacon?"

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow quizzically at this sudden change in behaviour, before deciding to just accept the change. "Hi again, and Beacon's great, so far. Now, back to your semblance. It won't hurt for me to get it from you. If you're okay with the idea of somebody else moving like you can, just hold out your hand and I'll take it from there."

Ruby, still riding the confidence high of Ladislaus's compliment, gladly stuck her hand out. "By 'it won't hurt', you mean it won't hurt me as well, right?"

Taking her hand, Ladislaus answered her question. "Nobody else I've tried this with has expressed any pain during the process, or afterwards. Some have felt nauseous when they've tried to use their semblance within about ten minutes of the transfer, but no pain. Ready?"

Ruby nodded, and Ladislaus shut his eyes, focusing on the sensation of Ruby's hand on his, continuing to focus until it resolved into a colour. He then felt this colour rush through his senses, opening his eyes when the flood of sensations abated. "Mind if I test this first? You can tell me if I'm doing it right or not."

Ruby stumbled, slightly disoriented by the experience, and Blake moved to catch her if she fell. Shaking her head to try and clear it, she started to speak. "Huh… yeah. Sure. Was it like that for you?"

Ladislaus decided to postpone his test briefly, to help walk Ruby through the reaction. "No, but I've been doing this for years. You're going to want to find somewhere to lie down, though. If your balance is shot that badly, you're not going to be able to do much for about an hour. If you still can't stand up after an hour, give me a call or get one of your team to. I know a few things to put an end to that." Feeling that he'd answered any questions the two might have had to the best of his ability, he decided to test out his newly-acquired skill. Tapping into that same sensation that flooded his body when he was touching Ruby, he closed his eyes, pictured the end of the corridor, and took a step. Opening his eyes, he saw the door for RWBY's dorm about thirty feet further than it was when he closed his eyes. Closing them again, he pictured the doorway to RWBY's dorm, and took another step. Opening his eyes revealed that he had figured out a crude facsimile of Ruby's semblance, and quickly thanked her before leaving.

* * *

><p>Arriving at the Emerald Forest, Ladislaus found the rest of his team talking. About what, he was not sure. Marcel was the first to notice his approach. "And here he is. Hey, Mighty Leader, where the hell have you been? We thought you'd skipped out on us for a while there."<p>

This sentiment was echoed by the other members of LMRC, growing to a cacophony, before being quieted by Ladislaus. "Relax, I was just getting some things squared away. We've still got time for Catrin to demonstrate, after all. Speaking of, how is this going to go? Catrin will be down in the forest proper, I presume, and we are going to be…"

Catrin explained her plan for the demonstration. "I won't start down in the forest. Roxane figured out how to trigger those stone plates, so I was going to propel off that, go out with style, as it were, and strike straight down. The momentum doesn't matter, it just looks cool. You three can set up wherever you want. If I did that protection right, then the splash shouldn't do too much to you guys. Are we clear?"

The other three nodded agreement, as Catrin moved to stand on one of the stone plates they used for initiation. Roxane told Catrin to signal when she was ready before taking up her own position on the cliff top. Ladislaus and Marcel, wanting to be slightly closer to the point of impact, slid down the cliff and ran into the forest, before turning their views skywards in anticipation of Catrin's passing. Right as Marcel and Ladislaus thought that they'd fallen for some practical joke, their quiet conferring was interrupted by a shout of joy, followed by a yell of "INCOMING!" Both jerked their heads up in time to catch a glimpse of Catrin's jacket passing over their heads. Moments later, another shout echoed from in front of them: "Look out below!"

Ladislaus drew his ranseur, planning on using it to maintain his balance should the force prove too great. Marcel simply drew lower to the ground in anticipation. Their preparations were interrupted, however, when a flash of light issued from the same direction of the shout. Pausing to observe the spectacle, they were caught by the blastwave that followed, knocking both of them to the ground and sending them backwards several dozen feet. When the blast dissipated, they returned to their feet, running towards the epicentre of the blast. "Catrin! You alright?" Catrin's response was from closer than they expected, given the force. "Yes, I'm fine. So, enjoy the demonstration?"

"It was certainly impressive. What's it actually do?"

"It creates a huge pressure wave centred on where I am. This wave tends to vary in size, dependent on how much Aura I have available. At its fullest, I can create a wave that goes for forty feet in each direction. As with most semblances that manifest in the physical world, it can be altered by Dust, which adds two radiating orbs of whatever the Dust element is to the wave that spin around the circumference four times in rapid succession before dissipating, while also applying the same effect to the environment. It's like area denial on steroids."

Marcel backed away as he listened, evidently nervous about an encore performance, particularly one involving Dust. Ladislaus merely stood, transfixed by the concept, as Catrin went on. "Anyway, think we have time for another performance?"

Ladislaus pulled out his scroll and checked the timetable, before shaking his head. "Dinner's coming up in about twenty minutes. It'll take us that long to get back to Beacon and change."

Marcel raised his eyebrow at the timing. "Twenty minutes? Don't we have a cliff to climb? One that takes about ten on its own?"

Ladislaus shook his head, chuckling as he did. "I found a workaround for that. I can take one person at a time, so you two will have to agree who gets taken up the cliff first, though. You can work that out on the way over."

The walk back to the cliff was spent talking, but not about who got to travel up the cliff first. Rather, the conversation was focused on getting Ladislaus to admit what this "workaround" was. They reached the base of the cliff before he cracked, however. "Alright, have you decided on who gets to go up first?"

Marcel pointed to Catrin. "She's used her semblance. She can go first. Also, I don't want to die if your workaround fails."

Ladislaus shook his head, picking up Catrin as he did so. "Oh, ye of little faith. This won't go too far wrong."

Looking up the cliff, Ladislaus closed his eyes. _It's just like in the dorm, but vertical. Can't be that hard, can it?_ Picturing the top of the cliff, Ladislaus channelled his borrowed semblance, and stepped. He heard a brief shriek from Catrin, and a surprised shout from who he assumed was Roxane, before he opened his eyes. "Uh, Laz? You're going to want to step away from the cliff edge." Roxane was standing cautiously, ready to leap at them and pull them back to firmer footing should they slip. "No. _Don't_ look at your feet. Just step towards me." Roxane kept his attention focused on her as he stepped, knowing that the unbalancing that such an action would create could send both him and his cargo (for want of a better term) plummeting.

When she was confident that Ladislaus was in no danger of dropping back into the forest, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, you can put Catrin down now." Letting Ladislaus put Catrin down, she took a moment to let him recover, before launching into a tirade. "What the hell was that? Do you have any idea -" Ladislaus waved Roxane to silence, substituting her own anger for his calm response. "I'll step twice next time." Taking a breath, Ladislaus slid back down the cliff to Marcel.

His reappearance prompted a flurry of questions from Marcel, who'd only seen the start of the semblance. "What was that? How did you do it? Where did all those rose petals come from?"

"What you just saw was the workaround I mentioned. It's another student's semblance that I borrowed before I left. I have no idea about the rose petals. Might be an artefact of the student I got it from. More questions can be answered later. Hop on, and I'll give you a lift. Alternatively," Ladislaus allowed himself a smile at the way he was going to phrase the rest of his offer, "I could, same as I did with Catrin, come in as the mysterious hero and sweep you off your feet, before whisking you off to parts unknown, to do as I pleased with you." After allowing the sentence to sink in, he quickly reset his expression to a neutral one. "But seriously, piggyback or bridal carry, hurry up and choose."

Marcel paused, considering the two options, before climbing on Ladislaus's back. "Onwards, noble steed!" Ladislaus shook his head, before closing his eyes and repeating what he did with Catrin. He knew he made it up when he could hear Roxane again. "Here he is. Remember, Laz, step forwards before you do anything."

Ladislaus raised his hand, asking for calm. "Just a sec, Roxane. Marcel, if you dare call me your 'noble steed' again, then I will happily use whatever semblance I happen to have to exact a just vengeance upon you. Now, the step." Stepping forwards, Ladislaus flipped Marcel over his head onto the ground. "Now, let's get back to our room, get our uniforms on, and grab dinner." Extending a hand to help Marcel up, Ladislaus led his team back to Beacon, unaware of their being surveilled.

* * *

><p>Up in the central tower of Beacon, Professor Ozpin watched Team LMRC's clandestine outing to the Emerald Forest with no small degree of interest, listening to the group chattering before Ladislaus arrived, talking about their life before Beacon and idly guessing at Catrin's semblance in the process. He smiled as the conversation changed when Ladislaus walked up the path. <em>He's better suited for leadership than he thought if they're waiting for him.<em> The team, now fully reunited again, moved towards the initiation platforms. He zoomed in as Roxane appeared to tamper with one of the stones, watching it trigger once, then reset. He continued to watch as the group split up, with Roxane staying on the clifftop to trigger the stone that Catrin stood on, while Ladislaus and Marcel slid down the cliff to get a better view from the ground.

Ozpin looked up briefly as the doors to his office opened. "You know, there's not enough hours in the day for you to watch every extra team you brought on in light of that attack."

"I know, Glynda. However, I am letting Ladislaus in as a favour to his parents. Space was tight enough, and I had to take him in lieu of somebody else. I would hope I get an adequate return on my investment. That is why I am watching his team. If he can rise to the task of leading them, then I will know that he is just as capable as I expect, especially given his Order's past."

He turned his attention back to the feed as Catrin demonstrated her semblance to her teammates. "While you are here, would you please notify Groundskeeping when you next pass them that we are going to need the Emerald Forest's cameras to be replaced. Miss Sabelline's demonstration appears to have unseated most of them."

Bringing up the feed to display on the other screens in the office, Ozpin invited Glynda to watch the team. While the only footage they could get was from the clifftop, there was one camera that looked down the cliff face to the base of it. Unfortunately, any microphones that could have picked up conversation there were similarly destroyed by Catrin's display.

Soon the members of LMRC, save Roxane, arrived on the camera, where they paused briefly before Ladislaus scooped up Catrin. Glynda sighed audibly at the sight. "I don't know where the boys get this behaviour from. It hardly makes for an effective carry, so the only purpose it serves is some attempt to woo the person they're carrying."

"Let them be, Glynda. They want to be like the heroes of old, so let them. They aren't harming anyone with their admittedly inefficient methods of doing things. As the saying goes, 'who let the truth get in the way of a good story?', so why let the real world get in the way of their entertainment?"

Both of their attentions were rapidly drawn back to the screens as rose petals appeared where Ladislaus and Catrin were. "I didn't know Ruby was there." Glynda remarked, eyebrow raised. "She wasn't. And yet here is her semblance, and her calling card. How truly enigmatic." Ozpin responded, paying closer attention to the feed.

They both watched intently as Ladislaus collected Marcel, carrying him back up the cliff in the same fashion. Ozpin broke the silence that had fallen in light of this. "How strange indeed. I'll have to check the Codex of Semblances for any hint of duplications occurring. We might have a duplicate semblance."

"Perhaps that _is_ his semblance. Maybe his semblance is that he can duplicate the semblances of others."

Ozpin pensively sipped his coffee. "You might be right. Have you heard of such a semblance, or seen it written anywhere?"

"You might do better to ask Bartholomew about that. History is his field, after all. I can't say that I have heard of a semblance like that, but ones like it do spring to mind, mostly from old legends and the like. I'll see what I can find out, though."

* * *

><p>Ladislaus had deflected questions all the way back to his team's dorm room about where and from whom he'd acquired his semblance, but couldn't maintain such a façade, and eventually caved while he was changing. "All right, I'll tell you guys. You really are dead-set on finding out things about me, aren't you?" Removing the chainmail shirt he'd been wearing, along with the cloth undershirt to prevent it scratching his skin, he related to his teammates how he'd visited one of the other teams and, after some persuasion, convinced Ruby Rose to let him use her semblance. Donning the dress shirt of the uniform and tying his tie, his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh dammit. I was going to check her for side effects. When you're done, don't wait up. If everything went well, I'll be at the dining hall. Find me there." Grabbing the vest and jacket that completed the uniform's top half, he bolted out the door towards team RWBY's dorm.<p>

Hurriedly knocking out "shave and a haircut" again, he finished dressing while waiting for the door to open. The door opened as he buttoned his jacket, revealing different girl to the last time he visited, albeit also in the uniform. This one, unlike the one who'd last greeted him, had pure white hair, done up in a ponytail off her right side, and boots with, if Ladislaus had to guess, about 4-inch high heels replacing the shoes that normally came with the uniform. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ladislaus Feher. I stopped by about an hour ago, maybe a little earlier. I borrowed something of Ruby's, and I promised I'd have it back to her within the hour. Is she here?"

The girl eyed him with an air of scepticism, looking at him as though his appearance held the truth to his visit. However, her gaze was interrupted by a voice from within the room, which Ladislaus soon identified as Ruby's. "Ladislaus? That's a mouthful. Let him in, Weiss, I want my semblance back."

Weiss's brow furrowed at this revelation, trying to figure out how this boy 'stole' Ruby's semblance, before stepping aside, letting him in. Ladislaus bowed his head as he entered, silently thanking Weiss for not shutting the door in his face. "Now, Ruby, I take it you couldn't use your semblance at all, based on your reaction?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. Like I told Weiss, you took my semblance, and now I want it back. Just doesn't feel right, not being able to move like I used to."

Ladislaus smiled in a manner he hoped was sympathetic. "Damn. Well, I'll fix that soon enough. Hand, please." Ruby placed her hand in his outstretched one, and shut her eyes like she had last time. Ladislaus shut his eyes, focusing on the reddish colour that his Aura had taken on ever since he'd cloned Ruby's semblance, and pushing that red out of his own Aura and back into Ruby's. When his Aura was back to its neutral state, he opened his eyes. "Ruby, go and test your semblance now. I'd hate to have made the situation worse by giving it back."

Following her out to the hall, Ladislaus smiled as the girl went end-to-end in the corridor as quickly as he could blink. "Looks like everything's back in its place. If you have any further semblance-related issues, I might direct you to the infirmary, as we've reached the limit on my own knowledge. See you around." Tipping an imaginary hat to the two, Ladislaus left for the elevators.

* * *

><p>"So, Ruby… he knocked on our door, asked for your semblance, and you just said yes?" Weiss said, incredulity apparent in her voice.<p>

"Pretty much." Ruby was already on the defensive, rubbing the back of her neck to help her nerves.

"And when you couldn't use your semblance, you just decided to let him be? If he'd taken my glyphs…" Weiss's incredulousness at the situation seemed to have plateaued, now being replaced with pure anger at the notion.

"Weiss, he seemed trustworthy enough. And he was. I mean, he came back to check on me. He could have assumed everything was fine and left me be." Ruby had moved from trying to justify her own decision-making to trying to defend Ladislaus. As far as she could tell, he hadn't intentionally stolen her semblance, it was just the way things happened.

"We both know if he had left you without your semblance that Yang would have torn him apart. I think he was trying to avoid being killed by Yang, checking in on you like that."

"He doesn't even know who Yang is. At least, I don't think he does. He would have said something if he did."

"'He would've done this', 'he would've done that'. Do you hear yourself, Ruby? You don't even _know_ this guy and you're trying to defend him. Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Weiss's voice returned to the tones of incredulity it started the conversation with.

Ruby checked the conversation in her head, and found Weiss was right. She _had _been justifying Ladislaus's decisions for him. Accepting defeat, Ruby conceded the argument. "Yeah, Weiss, you're right, it is crazy. Let's get some dinner. At least we'll be able to tell Blake and Yang about this."

Weiss smiled triumphantly, before allowing herself a little gloating. "Ha-hah! The voice of reason prevails! I can't wait to tell the others."

Ruby shook her head, knowing better than to try and quiet Weiss's gloating before she'd finished. "Yep. Now can we go? I heard there was cake, and I'd hate to miss it."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Hi again. This is the first chapter where I've attempted to frame the interactions between canon characters, particularly Ozpin & Glynda, and Ruby & Weiss. I'm not entirely used to writing from Ruby's mindset or Weiss's, so I'd be eager for some feedback on how those seemed to you.

Feel free to tell me what I did right, what I did wrong, and what you'd like me to cover/avoid like the plague.

Until next chapter,

Zip.


	6. Usque Ad Finem (The Fight)

Ladislaus entered the dining hall, searching among the tables of students for his own team. Locating Catrin's distinctive red and gold hair among the crowd, Ladislaus entered the line for food, collecting a tray as he passed. _One of the advantages of being late to mealtime: Don't have to wait in a queue for food._ Breezing down the bar, collecting whatever looked most appetising, he headed over to his team, plate laden with food. Taking a seat next to Roxane, he asked his team if anything fascinating happened while he was out.

Catrin was first to respond, something that Ladislaus had almost grown used to. "Nothing much, actually. I mean, outside of the usual casual racism against Faunus, this has probably been the most normal time we've spent at Beacon thus far." Noticing Ladislaus's raised eyebrow at the mention of 'casual racism', she elaborated upon the statement. "Yeah, some people here aren't terribly fond of the idea of Faunus studying here. The staff have stayed out of the conflicts, for better or worse, but it's pretty clear that for most of them, the concept's nothing new."

Ladislaus shrugged. "Some things never change, no matter how high you climb." Looking to lighten the mood, he gestured to his food. "Any idea what any of this stuff is?"

Marcel beamed, his time in the spotlight beckoning. Poring over Ladislaus's tray, he began to dissect the contents. "Let's see… the meat is standard, but I haven't heard agreement on precisely what it is. Popular opinion says that it's beef. I doubt that, but believe what you will. The yellow sludge is potato. Mostly. The vegetables, as I'm sure you're aware, are peas, carrots and… dude, you got cabbage? What is _wrong _with you? Doesn't matter." Marcel's jaw dropped as his view moved from the main portion of Ladislaus's meal to the dessert. "You got cake? You got cake and you didn't bring _any _for us? You heartless monster."

Ladislaus raised his hands in mock surrender. "If I knew you guys didn't have cake, I would have grabbed some for you as well. As it stands, I'd rather not go back for seconds, so next time you guys should delay a little if you want dessert."

Roxane drew one of her falcata from her uniform's sleeves. "We could fight for it."

Quickly looking around, Ladislaus motioned for Roxane to put her weapon away. "How did you get that in here? You know what, I don't care. Nobody else in this room has a weapon even visible on them. If there was a DMZ in Beacon, this is it, and here you are, waving your sword around like it's nobody's business. If you want it that much, have the fricking cake. Just don't get that weapon out in here again."

Roxane smiled at the rest of the table, sliding her sword back into its hiding place with one hand, and appropriating Ladislaus's cake with the other, pausing only to thank him before digging into it. Averting his eyes from the chaotic scene unfolding in Roxane's corner, he confirmed the contents of his meal with Marcel. "So, I got 'beef', potatoes and mixed veg. Right?"

Marcel still seemed too hurt by the presence, and then the absence, of cake to respond verbally, only nodding to confirm Ladislaus's recollection. Reassured that he was eating actual food, and not the ambiguous sludge he was used to from the church, Ladislaus launched into eating. As he finished, he looked up to find the others having turned their attentions from the rest of the room (which, admittedly, was not the most interesting environment) to him, doubtless finding some aspect of his eating habits peculiar. Trying to head off any questions, Ladislaus started speaking. "Just because I'm part of a church doesn't mean I pray over whatever food I'm given." Chuckling, he elaborated. "Only prayer I say, normally, is 'Thank God I get to eat'. Any longer and there's nothing left." Noticing the lack of laughter from around the table, he assumed they'd completely missed the point, and decided to make it obvious.

"It's a joke. The Cerulans tend towards poverty on the scale of 'practically homeless' to 'could buy Vale', so food that's edible is reasonably common, but food like this is a once-in-a-whole-moon opportunity. Might be standard fare for all of you, but for me, this is great. What do we do with plates when we're done?"

Catrin pointed to a bench by the door which the other students were loading trays onto. Ladislaus nodded, noting carefully where the bench was relative to their table. "Thanks for the tip. When Roxane gets done, all in favour of clearing out?"

The team made varying noises of agreement. "Then it's decided. I can't remember if I've already asked this, but any idea what our first class is tomorrow?"

"Combat, led by Goodwitch. Then it's Botany with Peach. Free period to break it up, then History," Marcel chuckled as he recalled the teacher's name, "with Oobleck. I don't remember much past that, but four or so hours should give us time to check."

"Any idea what 'Combat' is about?"

Catrin shook her head resignedly. "I hope this is a 'what will we do in the class' question, and not a 'what is the class about' question. In response, though, my guess is that it'll be fifty-fifty theory work to kicking the crap out of each other."

Ladislaus nodded, smiling. "Sounds like fun. What about Botany?"

"I pumped a few people for information," the table stared at Marcel as he said this, "what? And they said that the class is about knowing what's poisonous and what isn't. Also what attracts what. Word of advice, do not get the sap from the trees in Forever Fall on you."

Ladislaus and Catrin jointly raised eyebrows at Marcel's addendum. "Is there a story behind this?"

Marcel checked his uniform, before shaking his head. "Not that I can see. One of the students I asked wasn't too keen on the whole 'talking' thing." Catrin snorted, whispering "He probably tried to hit on her" to Ladislaus. "Tried to lock me in a greenhouse as we walked by. Then there were Rapier Wasps."

Catrin and Roxane's eyes lit up with recognition of the event Marcel described. "Ooh, so _that's_ why you were talking to a student and then ran towards us like you'd pissed off a Boarbatusk."

"Yeah. There was about a minute and a half between those two events."

"We can't afford to keep an eye on you all the time, Marcel." Roxane said, almost chidingly. "Anyway, I'm done, so we can go now. Unless they let you go back for more."

Catrin and Marcel both expressed disgust at the idea. "No, they don't. Even if they do, don't. It'll just get them to run the same food more regularly. So, for the sake of those of us with palates that crave variety, don't. Okay?"

Roxane nodded, slightly crestfallen, before following her team back to the dorm.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus was first into the room, removing his tie and jacket as he did so. When the rest of his team entered not long after, he and Catrin extended the privacy screen separating the two genders, allowing them to undress, confident that they wouldn't be spied upon. Marcel attempted to circumvent the screen several times, the first time only warranting a rapid dismantling of the system of mirrors he was using as a makeshift periscope and a disappointed shake of the head from Ladislaus, escalating rapidly to Ladislaus tying Marcel to his bed in a final effort to stop him from crossing the screen.<p>

Having taken care of that recurring inconvenience, they finished their respective routines, with Ladislaus and Catrin retracting the privacy screen upon completion. "Marc, we're gonna leave you like that for the rest of the night. You screwed up one time too many. We will continue to leave you like that until you learn some privacy, or at least some sense of decency. Seriously, I don't want you thrusting into my face every damn time you try and get a half-decent view of Catrin and Roxane. Put some proper pants on next time, for God's sake."

Catrin couldn't stifle a chuckle at Ladislaus's claim that Marcel would 'thrust into his face', and let it escape, along with a question. "Really?"

"It might seem funny, but seriously. I'm getting to know Marcel's crotch _way_ too well for a first night. One layer of fabric doesn't leave much to the imagination. Anyway, let's let that die, and get some sleep. Classes start at 9 tomorrow, and I'd hate to miss the first one."

Walking into Combat class the next morning, the team saw a duel already underway. Looking at the two faces on the banner and the bars underneath gave them a rough idea of who was duelling, and who was winning. As they found some seats, Marcel gasped, appearing to recognise one of the duellists. "Guys, this is a crazy dream, isn't it? There's no way that one of the two down there is Pyrrha Nikos."

Ladislaus, familiar with the name, pressed the matter. "I know that name from somewhere. Who is she?"

The rest of the team stared at Ladislaus like he'd just claimed he was from another planet, before Marcel explained. "Who is _Pyrrha Nikos_? Have you been living under a rock? Prodigal warrior, consecutive four-time winner of Mistral's regional tournament," Marcel's voice rose, while still trying to be a whisper, as these explanations drew no reaction from Ladislaus, "the girl on the front of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes?"

Ladislaus nodded at the last part, before responding. "Tournament winner. That'd be it. All you needed to say was that, I wouldn't recognise her from breakfast cereal. Now that we've all been shocked by my out-of-touch-ness, how about the other guy?"

The question of the other duellist's identity drew a series of blank looks and shrugs from his team, before Roxane pulled out her scroll and checked his face against the student roll. "Scroll says the guy's name is Vladimir Zemlya. He's part of OLVE."

"Isn't that Leon's team?"

"Yep. He's from Atlas, or so the surname suggests. Now I really want to see how this duel's going to turn out. Tech versus talent." Roxane's eyes seemed to glaze over as she said this, before refocusing on the arena.

Unfortunately for Roxane, the duel didn't last much longer, with Pyrrha, in successive strikes, disarming Vladimir, knocking him to the ground and having him at the end of her sword. Vladimir looked around, spotting his weapon on the opposite side of Pyrrha to where he was lying, and said, after some consideration, "I concede."

The lights rose, and Professor Goodwitch strolled out. "The match is ended, and Miss Nikos is, again, the victor. We have time for another sparring match, should anyone be willing. Do we have any volunteers?"

Marcel chuckled, murmuring to his team, "Not if they have to fight Pyrrha again. Take a look, she barely got hit." He illustrated his point by indicating the Aura meters that were displayed. While Vladimir's Aura had been depleted by approximately half, Pyrrha's had not been impacted significantly.

"Mister Maristen, are you volunteering?"

Marcel straightened in his seat, terrified by the prospect of facing Pyrrha. Noticing his teammate's shock, Ladislaus entered the conversation. "If you are calling on him because of his inability to be quiet, I volunteer in his place. As his team leader, the responsibility should fall to me to ensure my team is disciplined, and therefore the error is mine."

Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, slightly disbelieving of his justification, before deciding to accept it. "Very well, Mister Feher. Who would you like to fight?"

"In keeping with the reason, I would like to fight Pyrrha Nikos. Marcel was concerned that the volunteer would have to fight her, and I see no reason not to be the sacrificial lamb here." With a hint of laughter, he added. "Who knows, I might beat her."

Professor Goodwitch's look of interest darkened as she heard his request. "The last person to volunteer to fight Pyrrha Nikos in the same fashion you are forfeited the match after one minute of fighting. Are you sure you wish to fight her?"

Ladislaus reaffirmed his intent, eliciting a quiet shake of the head from Professor Goodwitch. "Very well. The ready rooms are to your left."

Nodding, he walked into the ready rooms, collecting the armour pieces he kept in storage. Looking down at his weapon, he decided to test it, to ensure that it had finalised whatever changes it was making. Pressing the button in its centre, his hand awaited the staff that was sure to form. When, after a minute's pause, there was no such shape, he looked closely, finding that his weapon had once again gone behind his back, choosing the more simplistic longsword that he had tested in the attic of his church two days ago. However, there was one change that Ladislaus found interesting in this form; squeezing the hilt in just the right manner caused a parrying dagger to issue forth from the pommel. While he doubted that a parrying dagger would come in handy fighting a sword-and-shield opponent, he made a note of the difference, should he need it. Seeing as the melee form of his weapon had changed, he also thought it apt to check the ranged form, smiling as it unfolded into a rifle, relieved that at least one thing had remained constant.

* * *

><p>Striding out of the ready room, he found the lights had dimmed again, with only the duelling ring fully lit. "Mister Feher, how familiar with the rules of sparring are you?"<p>

"I am not aware of any of these rules."

"Very well. The combat continues until one party concedes or has their Aura drop to critical levels. Ranged weapons are permitted, as is unarmed combat, but blows that would be lethal regardless of the opponent's Aura level are prohibited. Are these rules clear to you?"

"Yes, ma'am. One request, however. I would like this battle to continue until one party is too injured to continue, not merely until their Aura drops to critical levels. Would such an adjustment be allowed?"

"Such requests are… uncharacteristic for sparring matches, Mister Feher. Given the opponent, however, I am willing to make an exception, provided she agrees. Miss Nikos, do you agree to the adjustment?"

Pyrrha looked at Ladislaus, clad in plate armour to his waist, and a robe below that, sizing him up before responding. "Yes. I accept his adjustment." This response was met with noises of surprise from the crowd, with the exception being the section of the seats where his team sat. There, Ladislaus saw Roxane practically climbing over people in an attempt to draw closer to the conflict, while Catrin was preoccupied with chewing out Marcel, as though the request was inspired by him as well.

"Very well. The match shall continue until one party concedes or is too injured to continue. On your strike, Mister Feher."

Ladislaus guessed at the ways Pyrrha could retaliate at him if he charged her straight away. When he felt he'd found a gap in her defenses, or at least a way to not be badly hit, he ran at her, angling his sword slightly to catch the top of her shield. As he hoped, she brought her shield up to meet his blade, but he did not plan for her sword to rise to slash across his torso as he passed her. Reacting quickly, he abandoned his initial plan, dropping into a roll underneath her blade, and taking the opportunity to unsteady her as he passed. Rising to his feet behind her, he took advantage of the unsteadiness to remove a gauntlet and grab her, focusing on acquiring some of her Aura to use to power his semblance. While he was unaware of her semblance, he was confident he could force a usage out during the fight.

Returning to reality, he was knocked back by Pyrrha, who was startled by what had just occurred. Noticing that he'd found a way under her skin, he decided to try and see what he could do. "What's the matter, Pyrrha? Not used to people touching you?" She denied him the pleasure of a verbal response, only snorting as she ran towards him, holding her sword in a reverse grip. Replacing his gauntlet, he moved to catch her sword arm before she could cause any great measure of injury to him. Pyrrha, anticipating this reaction, crouched lower to the ground as she ran, before leaping up into Ladislaus's chest, using her shield to apply more force to the blow. He stumbled backward, taken off-guard by this change in strategy, barely having time to steady himself before weathering a series of blows from Pyrrha, which served to wear his Aura down considerably. As he caught his breath, Pyrrha allowed him a brief respite, switching her sword to its spear form while circling him. Ladislaus allowed a small chuckle to escape at his opponent's apparent mercy, before slashing at her. She ducked under the blow, attempting to stab at his currently-unprotected torso again when Ladislaus's left hand, having moved from his sword, reached down for Pyrrha's spear.

Ladislaus experienced more difficulty disarming his opponent than he expected, with his hand being easily shaken from the spear's shaft, but his interruption had served its purpose, forcing Pyrrha to withdraw before she sustained any retaliatory blows. Seizing on the unexpected adjustment, Ladislaus launched himself at Pyrrha, hesitating only briefly when she reacted to his first strike by catching it on her shield, sliding it off with her hand. The remainder of Ladislaus's attacks were ineffective, with many missing outright. However, he noticed that some of his misses were prefaced by his sword slowing, as though he was trying to cut through water. Withdrawing, he tried to figure out what was causing it, flourishing his sword as a warning. When one of his motions was slowed in the same fashion as he pondered her semblance, he grinned, confident he'd figured out what had happened. When Pyrrha had pushed his sword off her shield, she'd become able to manipulate it, slowing it and changing its trajectory. _If that's her semblance at play, then I can do the same to her. Let's give it a run._ Advancing slowly towards Pyrrha, sword ready to repel any blows, he attempted to move her weapon. As he drew to within ten feet of her, Pyrrha shook her sword arm, a sign that Ladislaus took to mean that his efforts were working.

Lunging at her, he rained blow after blow upon her shield, intent on not aiming for her body or letting her respond. After sustaining this attack for several seconds, he shoved her shield out of the way, before beginning to attack her directly. Pyrrha responded to this change in activity by flipping backwards, putting several metres between herself and Ladislaus before switching her weapon to its rifle form and unleashing a barrage of shots at him. Ladislaus, not having much to defend himself against ranged attacks, threw himself into the fusillade, hoping he could close before she did any significant damage. His plans came undone when he felt one shot penetrate through his armour, followed by another two in quick succession near the same point. Refusing to let himself be brought low by her attack, he continued rushing towards her, intending to bowl her over more than strike her. Pyrrha easily dodged his crude attempt to repay the injury she dealt him, but was not prepared for him to grab the sash she wore and use it as leverage to bring her firmly back into his reach. "Not getting away that easily, Nikos."

Pyrrha again did not grace him with a verbal response, choosing instead to knee him in the groin before lodging her sword in the same area she had shot him seconds beforehand. Roaring at the sensation of her sword being driven into several bullet wounds, he let his sword fall to the floor, using his right hand to pick up Pyrrha by the throat while his left ensured that she could not retrieve her sword. "Well done. Didn't think you'd fight like this." Using his clone of Pyrrha's semblance to trigger the release of his parrying dagger from the hilt, he attempted to summon it to his hand. While Ladislaus was focused on summoning his dagger, Pyrrha ran her hands over the armour of his gauntlet, before using her semblance to help pull his hand open. Ladislaus noticed this bid for freedom and responded by closing his hand tighter around her neck, now aiming more for suffocating her instead of merely restricting her motion. "Stop struggling, and I'll finish this quickly." Placing his dagger in between his teeth, he used his left hand to remove the sword that continued to trouble his movements, throwing it aside. Pyrrha took advantage of the pause to line up one foot to kick his freshly-opened wound, while still trying to pry his hand open. When Pyrrha started swinging in his grip, Ladislaus laughed. Removing the dagger from his mouth, he gloated. "That's not going to save you, you know. Just two words can end this." His smug grin soon changed, however, souring to a grimace as Pyrrha's boot contacted the cuirass where he'd been struck, causing him to double over in pain, dropping Pyrrha in the process.

Breathing heavy and ragged, Ladislaus hissed out the words "I surrender", as he lowered a gauntlet to his side to check the damage he'd sustained. He groaned as it came back up slick with blood. "Solid hit, Pyrrha." Looking over to his opponent, he found her still lying on the ground where he dropped her. Crawling over to her, he checked to make sure his act of bravado did not leave any lasting injuries. Feeling for breath, he sighed with relief as he felt it. _So she's not dead. That's a start._ As he brought his hand away from her mouth, her eyes slowly opened, snapping back into clarity when she saw Ladislaus kneeling over her. "Hey, hey, I surrendered, you won. You alright?" Eyes searching around for her sword, she regarded Ladislaus with suspicion. Attempting to speak only rewarded her with a series of coughs as her Aura healed her throat. When the fit stopped, she responded. "I'm fine. Yourself?" Ladislaus chuckled at the question, wincing as pain lanced up his side from the act. "Worse shape than you. Want a hand up?" Rising unsteadily to his feet, Ladislaus extended his hand to her. Rubbing her neck, Pyrrha accepted the offer. Professor Goodwitch, who'd expected for both of them to be too injured to move with the way the fight unfolded, soon assumed control of the situation. "Well done, Miss Nikos. Mister Feher, I trust this has taught you all you need to know about duelling the other students?"

One hand firmly braced over his wound, Ladislaus grinned. "If the lesson is 'do not mess with Pyrrha Nikos', then consider it learned. If the lesson is 'safeguards are in place for a reason', consider that also learned. On that note, though, I really think I need to get this looked at." Pointing to his still-bleeding side, he continued. "Unless, that is, you want me to continue bleeding on your arena."

Glynda sighed and adjusted her glasses, before typing in a command on her scroll. "Medical station is in the ready room. I'll notify them that you're coming. Miss Nikos, if you'd be so kind as to help him?"

"I'd be happy to." Pyrrha's response carried a hint of iciness in it, as she came under Ladislaus's shoulder and propped him up as he walked. Pausing briefly to collect both of their weapons, Ladislaus began to question her. "So, no hard feelings, right?"

"None. What transpired was a duel, and you fought well, for someone new."

"Good. I'll give you a bit of warning. I'm probably going to pass out soon." By this point, Pyrrha's aiding of Ladislaus had graduated to her almost dragging him. "I would expect no less with your injuries. Give me a moment to adjust you, then."

When Pyrrha's request was met with no response, she paused, using her semblance to move his arms so that she was dragging him behind her like a large, armoured cloak. Ladislaus, not entirely succumbed to his injuries, smiled briefly before darkness overtook him. _So that _was _her semblance._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

This piece is the first fight scene which I've attempted to write in the RWBYverse. My choice of opponents may cause some disturbance among people, because Ladislaus may have stood more of a chance than he should have by any stretch. In any case, he got roundly whipped, with whatever damage he did to Pyrrha being more or less superficial and easily-healed (choking somebody, while it can be fatal, takes a while), while Pyrrha came about two sword strokes from disembowelling him. For those of you who call shenanigans that Ladislaus could even lift Pyrrha, bear in mind that Pyrrha (per the height chart) is 6'0, while (and I probably should have mentioned this earlier) Ladislaus is 6'3". Let's not even discuss if it's possible for somebody to lift Pyrrha one-handed, because Rule of Cool is in play for acts like that.

Next Chapter: Ladislaus meets Jaune. Stupid claims are made.

Zip.


	7. Argumentum Ad Honorem (The Consequence)

When Ladislaus's eyes next opened, he found himself in a bright white room. "Son of a – Am I dead?"

A series of gasps from his left drew his attention. One voice soon became distinct above the exclamations. "Goddamn, Laz! I didn't think you'd go that far with Pyrrha!" Whatever hopes Ladislaus had about having gone to heaven evaporated more rapidly with each syllable.

"Thanks, Marc, for proving that I am not, in fact, in heaven, but rather in a medical room."

One other voice also manifested, from somebody who Ladislaus didn't immediately recognise. "He's awake? Ladislaus, I didn't realise quite how badly I injured you. I would like to apologise for that." The slightly stilted manner in which she abbreviated her words soon made it apparent that, in addition to his team, Pyrrha Nikos, the girl he'd almost beaten, had seen fit to wait for him to wake up.

Ladislaus turned on the bed in an attempt to actually see who was at his bedside, and winced in the process, having forgotten his injury was on the left. "It's fine, Pyrrha. I probably should have called it when you put a ton of holes in me, to be honest."

Marcel and Roxane both vocalised their displeasure at the thought. "Are you kidding? That was awesome! You'd just been shot several times, and based on the blood she got something serious, and it only seemed to piss you off! It's like having an Atlesian robot on our team!"

"Yeah, I was backing Pyrrha at first, and I thought you were making a giant mistake, asking for the rules to be changed like you did, but then that happened, and it got awesome! It was like watching a movie!"

Ladislaus forced a smile as he sat up on his bed. "Yeah, well, consider this a cautionary tale, then. Things that look awesome hurt like a bastard and get you put in hospital. Not saying you shouldn't do them, just to remember that it's not going to be pleasant. How long was I out?"

Catrin, who'd been largely silent throughout the exchange spoke up. "You've been out for two days. We've checked on you whenever we had time to. Honestly, I was having doubts you were actually going to wake up. I mean, I saw the blood. Could have filled a small swimming pool."

Swinging his legs out from under the covers, Ladislaus prepared to rise to his feet again. "Sounds messy. Anyone willing to help their leader, or their hopefully-worthy opponent," he looked at Pyrrha as he said this, "to his feet? Two days of bed rest should be about right."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at the distinction. "All of my opponents are worthy. You merely have the distinction of fighting longer, and through more traumatic injuries, than any others. And I do not feel it is my place to aid you in defying the doctor's orders. He has advised that, once you regain consciousness, you alert him and remain in your bed until he authorises you to rise from it."

Ladislaus snorted, before beckoning Marcel to him. "Come on, man. Help me out for a second. I suffered this so you didn't have to, remember?"

Catrin was quick to shoot down the claim. "No, you didn't. I think you got arrogant. If Marcel was down there, I reckon he would've done what the last guy did and just forfeited. You alone were the crazy idiot who decided to turn it into a death match."

"Alright, fine. This was all on me. Now that we've got this over with, I'd love to be able to stand up again." Extending one hand for assistance, Roxane grabbed it, pulling him slowly to his feet. Thanking Roxane, and removing his hand from hers, he steadied himself on the nearby wall. "Where's my stuff?"

"Doc put your things in his office. Figured somebody who'd powered through injuries like you did wouldn't exactly be keen on being cleared. Speaking of, Pyrrha, because I've got to stay here to keep these two from running off with their hero, would you get the doctor?"

"Certainly, Catrin. I shall return shortly."

With that, Pyrrha walked into the adjoining doctor's office, while Ladislaus and Catrin stared at each other, both knowing that he wouldn't go anywhere without his armour. The atmosphere in the room grew tenser, as the stare continued. Before words could be exchanged, however, Pyrrha re-entered the room, with the doctor in tow. "So, Ladislaus, you think you're alright to leave?"

"I might lack the same medical knowledge that you have, doctor, but I can't feel my injuries playing up, so I think I'm pretty good."

The doctor chuckled at Ladislaus's self-diagnosis before explaining. "The reason why you can't feel the injuries you sustained 'playing up' is the same reason why you probably feel a little light-headed. Miss Nikos's sword didn't just go through your armour like it was paper, it went through your kidney. While your recovery speed is certainly very impressive, you're also on enough painkillers to knock out a horse. Because of that, I would request you stay for at least one more day. It wouldn't reflect well for you to be in the middle of class and suddenly pass out because you weren't quite ready for whatever pain you might suffer. So, please, get back in the bed before I have to have your team do it for me."

Marcel grinned, apparently pleased to be able to mete out some measure of revenge for tying him down that first night. Ladislaus caught sight of his expression, and reluctantly slid back into the bed, not wishing to face the indignity, and inevitable manhandling, that would ensue if his team had to put him in.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus didn't do much for the remainder of the day, instead just lying in bed as the doctor requested. It had occurred to him during this time, however, that normally Beacon just had a nurse. The presence of a doctor meant that his injuries were severe enough to warrant a third party, likely from one of Vale's hospitals, to be brought in to ensure he didn't die.<p>

His blind theorising about how much they had to do to save him, outside of remove a kidney, continued more or less unabated throughout the night, only really interrupted by a serving of breakfast (porridge) and the appearance of his team before class. "Hey Laz, think you're up to moving?"

"Morning all. Yeah, I reckon I can manage walking around just fine. Help me up, get me cleared, and I should be done in time for class." Extending his hands, his team, with the exception of Catrin, who'd gone to get the doctor, helped him out of bed. "You know, this better not become a regular occurrence. I can only be persuaded to lift you out so many times."

Ladislaus laughed at Marcel's attempt at negotiation. "Marcel, remember this every time you say that: if you had kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't be helping me up."

"If you'd done the reasonable thing, you would have surrendered to Pyrrha before you got all shot up. But I guess that comes with the territory of being in a church, right?"

Ladislaus snorted, wincing briefly as he was finally made to stand on two feet. "You have no idea. Anyway, where's Catrin with the doctor? I'd really like to get my things."

As though they were slated to appear only when their names were called, Catrin and the doctor soon entered, with Catrin carrying Ladislaus's weapon and armour. "So, Ladislaus, you think you're clear to go, right?"

"Yes, doctor. Seeing as I've been off the painkillers for over twenty-four hours and I'm more or less fine, I think I'm good to go. So, if you'll give me whatever I need to sign, I'll put pen to paper, grab my things, and stop cluttering up the infirmary."

The doctor smiled at Ladislaus's eagerness to leave. "Nothing for you to sign. Just walking out the door tells us that you accept whatever further injury may befall you should you do increasingly stupid things as that wound heals. I mean, best we can muster that won't leave stitches is we can agitate your Aura around that point. So don't fight anyone and you should be fine. In any case, if you're willing to let me take a look, I can tell you roughly how long you'll be out of the ring for."

Raising his gown, he unveiled a long, angry red cut, surrounded with smaller dots, just below his ribs. He grinned as Marcel recoiled from the sight. "It's not as bad as it looks, really."

The doctor hummed as he inspected the injury, poking at the skin around it and writing what could pass as words on a clipboard, before giving Ladislaus a rough timeframe for when he'd be able to fight again. "I'd say about a week. If it opens or starts leaking, come back. Other than that, you're good to go. God willing, you won't rush so eagerly into the hands of death itself to try and beat somebody known for fighting again anytime soon."

"That was a one-off, doc. Thanks for the help, and I'll try and stay out of the office for as long as I can."

"Good man. Pull the curtain if you want some privacy while you change." The doctor pointed to the curtain that surrounded Ladislaus's bed. Taking the hint, Ladislaus took his combat gear, initially wondering why his teammates didn't think to bring his uniform instead, before getting changed. _If anyone asks, I've got a pretty reasonable story to back it up._

* * *

><p>When the curtain opened a few minutes later, Ladislaus collected his sword from his bed and led his team out into the corridors of Beacon. "So, what class have we got?"<p>

"Grimm Studies, with Port. If you've got anything you need to do with Pyrrha, there's your chance as well. Her team's got this class with us."

Ladislaus nodded, aware that he still had to return what little fragment of Pyrrha's Aura he'd borrowed. "You guys will have to show me which way it is, on account of my indisposedness the past few days."

"Yeah, we should probably tell you in advance that Port might skip some of the lesson so he can hear you tell your epic tale of how you almost beat Pyrrha Nikos. He's a sucker for stories like that."

"Well, Rox, it's not like I'm going to have trouble recalling it. I mean, first day of classes, and I almost get myself killed. I can't see that as anything other than memorable. Anyway, let's not discuss how Port's going to react to my presence, and instead just go." Letting his team lead the way, Ladislaus fell in with them to go to Grimm Studies.

Walking into the classroom, Ladislaus was greeted with a cheer from the students who were there. "Holy crap, man! Thought you died!"

"The man, the legend, the one guy to have Pyrrha Nikos over a barrel, Ladislaus Feher!"

Ladislaus grinned at the welcome, before beckoning for quiet. "Thanks for the confidence boost, guys. Really. But I had to be dragged out afterwards. I wouldn't say that I had Pyrrha 'over a barrel' inasmuch as I gave her a decent fight."

This rejection of praise was not well received by those who were present, who reacted almost universally by booing him down. Making his way to a seat, he was surprised when in addition to his team taking their seats next to him, a blonde-haired boy, who he'd seen talking with Pyrrha, approached.

"Hey, buddy. I saw what happened in that duel, and I'd just like you to know, if you _ever_ touch Pyrrha like that again, you'll be answering to me."

Ladislaus looked up at him, response laden with disinterest. "Listen, I get it, some random guy got a little fresh with your girlfriend. I say she's your girlfriend because, if she wasn't, you wouldn't be coming over to say things like what you just did, right? Beside the point. I'd love to say 'I'm sorry for giving your girlfriend everything I had and then some', except that wouldn't be honest. If I was, I'd say something closer to 'That duel was great fun, when would she like to have another go?', but I'm on doctor's orders to avoid getting the crap kicked out of me for about a week. More to the point, I've never seen you fight anyone. Pyrrha managed to almost kill me. You're not that scary, in comparison."

"Yeah? Well she's been giving me lessons."

"Oh? And your name is…"

He replied with a hint of pride in his voice that Ladislaus appeared to care who he was. "My name is Jaune Arc, but you can call me Jaune."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ladislaus, and I was planning on doing so whether you wanted me to or not. Anyway, Jaune, the fact that the most intimidating woman to come out of Mistral is giving you fighting lessons isn't something that scares me. You don't exactly look the fighting part anyway. More to the point, you don't carry yourself like somebody's who's seen grievous bodily harm."

Jaune became defensive, seemingly offended that Ladislaus's responses seemed crafted to indicate he cared as little as possible. "And how do you know I haven't? I'll have you know I killed an Ursa and a Deathstalker. I even killed a Nevermore once." This final claim was met with shouts of disagreement from the front row. "That was us and you know it!"

Ladislaus sighed. Evidently this 'Jaune' character wasn't going to leave him alone until he agreed to never interact with Pyrrha again. "Alright, let's handle this in order. One, I can tell you haven't been stabbed badly for much the same reason anyone who's fought Grimm can tell somebody who hasn't. It is not exactly the kind of injury that passes, like a broken arm or a particularly bad nosebleed. The latter of which, I would wager, is the worst that's befallen you. And congratulations on killing those big and terrifying Grimm," he gestured to the front as he spoke, "I'm sure you had help. Back to the point. I've got a sneaky feeling you're just trying to get me to never duel Pyrrha again, and I'll level with you here, I'll continue to duel Pyrrha if I reckon I can stand to learn more through doing so. Am I going to finish the duel in a similar position each time, with me choking her and her sword in my chest? Probably not, unless it's her thing. Now, are we done?"

Without waiting for a response, Ladislaus gestured for one of his teammates to show him their notes from the previous classes, and began transcribing. Jaune, fully aware that any further attempts at conversation were either going to be ignored or turned into insults and used against him, as so often happened when he talked to people in plate armour, walked back to Pyrrha and the rest of his team.

After a few more minutes of his team making small talk while he continued writing, the bell rang and a man, who, based on his appearance, had his best days and washed them down with enough beer to flood Vytal, walked in. _If that's Port, he certainly matches the name._ "Good morning students. I see our courageous warrior has seen fit to join us today," gesturing to Ladislaus, "and might I enquire as to the _actual _reason for your absence, Mister Feher?"

Marcel nudged Ladislaus, passing him a note that said 'he wants to hear the story'. Glancing at the note, then at Marcel, who nodded at him, before looking at Professor Port, Ladislaus recounted a condensed version of the duel that put him in the infirmary for three days. "Marcel was going to be volunteered to fight in the arena that Professor Goodwitch oversees, and I, thinking it to be the responsible thing, intervened and volunteered on his behalf. Knowing who he was afraid of fighting, I decided to choose the same opponent, Pyrrha Nikos.

"Because I was ridiculously naïve about duelling, I requested that the duel continue until one of us surrendered or was too wounded to continue." This statement was met with a noise of interest from Professor Port. "After the duel began, we spent a little time trading blows before I managed to duplicate her semblance, and used it to try and gain the advantage. I charged her, after testing to find out if I had figured her out. It turns out my suspicions were correct, and I pounded on her shield to make sure she couldn't try it again. When I felt ready, I shoved her shield out of the way, and she flipped clear of me, and started to open up. She got me pretty good, put several holes in my side, before I managed to catch up. She tried to leap clear of me when I barged into her, but I grabbed the sash that she wears to pull her back in. She ran me through to try and escape, I grabbed her by the throat, and pulled her sword out of me. I then tried to summon my dagger to my hand as she tried to break my grip. Then she kicked me in the wound and I dropped her. She was dazed, I was incredibly hurt, and I surrendered as I realised how bad I was bleeding. I helped Pyrrha back up, in the name of good sportsmanship, and made sure she wasn't too badly injured by my own attack before she carried me out and then I passed out from blood loss."

Running over his summary in his head, Ladislaus nodded. "And that's the fight. Probably lasted no longer than seven minutes. If you want to know more, please direct your questions to Pyrrha. I hit the limit on things I knew in that summary. But I'd suggest that such things can wait until the end of class, am I correct Professor?"

The Professor seemed to snap back to attention, having let his mind wander during Ladislaus's retelling. "Yes, definitely. Any questions can wait until the end of the class. On that note, however, I am reminded of the first time I fought an opponent who, much like Miss Nikos, had several tournament victories to their name."

Passing the notes back to his team, Ladislaus opened a new document and began writing down as much of Port's intermittent pedagogy as he could manage.

* * *

><p>When he brought his eyes back to a clock, Ladislaus found he'd been taking notes and, reading back over them, a lot of anecdotes for the better part of an hour. Looking around the room, he'd found that a lot of his fellow students had already abandoned the idea of note-taking, choosing either to sleep or pass notes around. "And now, seeing as we still have some time, should any of you wish to question either Mister Feher or Miss Nikos on their duel, you now have time to do so."<p>

The opportunity to ask questions was by and large squandered, with many of the class still asleep and unaware of the chance. Ladislaus decided to take advantage of the freedom such a time offered to sneak by Jaune to talk with Pyrrha. _If he wakes up and says anything while I'm giving Pyrrha back her Aura, I am going to break him._ Tapping on Pyrrha's desk, he drew her attention. "Hey, Pyrrha. Just figured that now was as good a time as any to give back the bit of your Aura I took. Seeing as everyone's asleep, the rumour mill's going to be short-staffed, so nobody can get the wrong idea. If you want to do this, then give me your hand."

Pyrrha initially regarded his request with some confusion, before placing her hand in his. "I'm sorry about Jaune, by the way. He can be somewhat… overbearing with new people."

Ladislaus shrugged. "It's fine. I can tell you and him have got something, and if you don't then you're both _very_ good at acting the part, and he sees me, quite understandably, as a threat to that. Close your eyes, please. I can do it with open eyes, it's just easier with closed eyes."

Pyrrha obliged Ladislaus's request, and he followed suit as soon as he had confirmed it. Focusing on her Aura, he identified the colour. _Red, almost like Ruby. Peculiar._ Turning his attention to his own Aura, he noticed the slight crimson hue it had taken on. Pushing that hue across the physical bond that he and Pyrrha had formed, he watched as his Aura returned to its neutral state, while Pyrrha's own Aura became slightly more vibrant. Opening his eyes, he checked to make sure nobody was watching. "And we're done. I can't do whatever your semblance could, and your Aura's back to full strength. Thanks for the experience. Definitely something to write home about."

"And thank you for the duel, Ladislaus. Though Jaune might not be in favour of it, I would be happy to duel you again, but with more restraints next time. I never expected to have to run somebody through to avoid being defeated, and never expected that same person to appear to shrug off such an injury. It was… thrilling."

"My pleasure, Pyrrha. Give me a week, and we can be at each other's throats all over again."

Miming a hat-tip, Ladislaus walked back to his team. As he did so, Jaune slowly stirred, watching as he walked away. Scowling, he stood and stormed over. Pyrrha glanced up from her own work just in time to watch Jaune get up. "Jaune, don't. He came over to give me what he borrowed during the duel. Nothing else."

Jaune waved off her statement, too focused on his target to care. "Hey, Ladslaw. I told you to not touch Pyrrha again, and yet there you are, touching her again. That is _rude_. I mean, I was polite and everything. She's not yours to touch."

Ladislaus looked at Jaune, smiling as he realised he'd found out Jaune's weakness. He rose to the bait, seeding his response with as many aggressive statements as he thought necessary. "It's Ladislaus, and your dedication to Pyrrha is inspirational. Misguided, yes, but inspirational. So what's it to be, Jaune? Swords at dawn? To first blood or to the death? If you genuinely consider Pyrrha yours alone, to be interacted with by no other man, how far are you willing to go?"

Jaune matched Ladislaus's stare, narrowing his eyes as he responded. "As far as I need to."

Ladislaus smiled wryly at Jaune's confidence. "Very well then. Swords to exhaustion at your earliest convenience. Pyrrha, do you object to Jaune risking himself for you like this?"

Pyrrha sighed, having been placed on-the-spot by Ladislaus's question. "I do not approve of Jaune's foolishness, but if he considers this something he needs to do, I will not stand in his way."

Ladislaus clapped his hands, eager to see this out. "Then it is decided! Next time both of us are in the arena, we'll settle this. Not necessarily like gentlemen, but settled all the same. I eagerly await your challenge, Mister Arc."

The bell rang, and Ladislaus and his team packed their things and left, with Ladislaus himself being the victim of his teammate's ire. "Laz, you're fresh out of the infirmary and you're agreeing to fight people again? What happened to churches and such being places of peace, love and brotherhood that spawned equally kind and caring people?"

"That's more recent an idea than you'd think. The group I'm from, the Cerulan Order, wasn't always the 'help the poor and disenfranchised' type. Unless, of course, the poor and disenfranchised's problems could be solved with a sword. Way back when they were first founded, they were pretty much Hunters when Hunters weren't quite there. Big help for a lot of people. As a result, every Cerulan has undergone some small amount of combat training, hence why I'm even here to begin with. Why am I continuing to fight fresh out of medical? It's for Jaune. He seems to have a kind of old-world view on how to be a gentleman, and to deny him the chance for satisfaction after, to him, messing with his girlfriend would be a far graver insult than beating him in the ring. I don't much mind the fight, because he's not going to stab me in the chest."

"So you're going to fight him because to not fight him would be a bigger insult? Aren't you looking to insult him? If you weren't, you might want to check your phrasing. You seemed to be doing a good job of pissing him off."

Ladislaus tutted at Marcel's assumption. "No, Marc. If I genuinely wanted to insult him I would have laid him out the moment he told me that he didn't like me fighting Pyrrha. I don't want to make an enemy of him yet. Despite his hilariously out-of-touch ideals, he seems nice enough. I don't hear you guys telling me he isn't, at any rate."

Roxane took over from Marcel in admonishing Ladislaus. "That's because he's weird. He barely has any idea about most of the things we're learning about. He seems like he fluked in. But that's not the point. The point is that you're just going around agreeing with everyone who wants to fight you like you don't even care that you've been stabbed. If you're like this when you're training, what are you going to be like in the field?"

Ladislaus regarded Roxane with condescension as he formed his response. "Do not presume that what I'm doing is in any way indicative of my attitude. What part of 'I'm fighting Jaune because his honour demands it' isn't sinking in?" Returning to his previous cordiality, he continued. "At any rate, Catrin seems to be fine with the idea. Why _are _you so quiet, anyway?"

"Well, altar boy, while some of us might be less than fond of seeing our indomitable leader taking the field again so soon, I'm happy to see how it pans out. Is this beyond stupid, even for somebody who's spent seventeen years under religious dogma? Of course it is. Just means it'll be all the funnier when you go down."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Where to now?"

Catrin smiled. "Your favourite. Duelling."


	8. Sana Mente, Insana Acta (The Incidents)

Ladislaus did a double take at Catrin's words. "Wait, again?"

"Hey, the rest of us have had three days in between where Duelling lessons were normally separated. You're the odd one out here."

This debate continued, even through their entry into the arena, only drawing to a close as they took their seats and saw Professor Goodwitch enter. "Good morning students. To open the lesson, do we –Oh, good to see you're back with us, Mister Feher. I trust you won't engage in any more displays of machoism?"

Ladislaus snorted, responding with the kind of cordiality only the injured and the humbled can muster. "I believe I established my capabilities well enough in the first duel that any more displays of 'machoism' should not be necessary, ma'am."

Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at the indecisive language he used. "They had best not. As I was saying, do we have anyone willing to duel to open up the lesson?" Looking into the ring, Ladislaus reflexively reached for his sword, having not had time to put it into his locker. "All things considered, Mister Feher, I do not think it would be a wise choice for you to take to combat so quickly after your injury."

"I'm fully aware of that, ma'am. I'm still a little shaken up by what transpired last time I stepped in, is all."

"An understandable sentiment. Now, do we have any volunteers, or do we dissect previous matches?"

Ladislaus looked around to find Jaune in the class, hoping that he would rethink his decision. _Come on Jaune, don't be stupid._ "Professor Goodwitch? I would like to volunteer." _Goddammit._

"How proactive of you, Mister Arc. The last time you were in the arena, you were loath to check your Aura during the conflict. I trust your newfound confidence stems from breaking that habit. And your opponent?"

"I would like to fight Ladislaus Feher."

A series of murmurs circulated around the room. Professor Goodwitch soon quieted them, before responding to Jaune's request. "I cannot allow that, Mister Arc. As I mentioned, Ladislaus is recovering from the injuries he sustained from his prior bout, and I have no reason to believe he is capable of posing a real threat."

Ladislaus looked to where his injury was, inhaled, and began. "Respectfully Professor, I would happily oblige Mister Arc's request. While I may not be returned to the same level as being able to fight Pyrrha, I do not quite believe that Jaune is of the same level. No offense to him."

Professor Goodwitch's eyes narrowed at this subversion of her authority. "Very well Mister Feher. If you believe yourself fit for combat, I shall not oppose it. You know your limits better than I do. I trust that it will be conventional tournament rules, Mister Arc?"

"Yes Professor. All weapons allowed, and first to have their Aura depleted is the victor, correct?"

"Correct. Take the field when you're ready, both of you."

Ladislaus was already walking towards the ready room as she affirmed the rules, pausing only to chide Jaune's choice. "You had to do this, didn't you?"

* * *

><p>Stepping out into the arena, Ladislaus walked until he was on the opposite side of the ring to the ready room's entrance. Drawing his sword, he tested his left side's capacity to move. Stepping forwards, backwards and sidestepping with Romphaea did not appear to be hindered by his injury, but leaning from side to side and turning too quickly rewarded him with lances of pain up his left side. He finished his assessment when he saw Jaune appear in the entrance to the ready room. <em>Alright Jaune. In the interests of making you feel right, let's get this over with. <em>"Mister Arc, the duel commences on your strike."

Ladislaus angled his sword so the blade lay across his middle, ready to repel whatever blow Jaune sent at him. Jaune seemed to be sizing up Ladislaus, looking for where best to strike without repercussion, evidently more than the unskilled rookie Ladislaus had taken him for. His eyes lit up as he found a weak point in Ladislaus's defense and he approached. Not with the speed that characterised a lot of Ladislaus's own strikes against Pyrrha, but with a calm, measured pace that stopped not far from Ladislaus's sword's range. Raising his sword, Jaune probed Ladislaus's posture, trying to confirm the weakness he'd seen earlier. Bringing his shield up to cover his midsection more properly, he lunged at Ladislaus, who sidestepped his lunge before bringing Romphaea around to tap him lightly on the back, much like his father used to do to him in his youth.

This practice blow appeared to annoy Jaune, as he reactively turned around and slashed at Ladislaus almost immediately. Jumping back, Ladislaus inhaled sharply as his scars disagreed with the sudden movement. Jaune smirked at the response, presuming he'd managed to strike some fear into his opponent. Looking at the scroll he had mounted on the inside of his shield, he found that Ladislaus's Aura was already partially depleted, doubtless from trying to mitigate whatever damage he'd inflicted in his dodging. Encouraged by this turn of events, Jaune attempted the same overhead strike at Ladislaus that he had opened with, confident that Ladislaus would refrain from dodging too much.

As Jaune hoped, Ladislaus instead moved to parry his strike, opening him up for follow-up blows to his left. Receiving one strike directly above his injury soon reminded Ladislaus of the circumstances he was fighting in, and began to return Jaune's strikes in kind, taking advantage of his inexperience with using his weapons to exploit the gaps in his defense. Ladislaus unleashed a flurry of blows, almost all of which managed to find their way around Jaune's shield, beating him down to one knee, before levelling his blade at Jaune's neck. "Do you surrender, Jaune?"

Jaune turned his head to look at Pyrrha, then at Weiss, before turning to look at Ladislaus. "No." _Well, this complicates things._

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at Jaune's refusal, before shrugging and raising his sword. Making a couple of practice swings at Jaune's torso, he raised his sword for the final blow when Jaune leapt up, charging into Ladislaus as he prepared his swing and knocking him off-balance. _And now we're back on track._ Jaune carried on his attack, culminating in him knocking Ladislaus to the ground, holding him at the end of his sword much like he had Jaune mere moments ago. "What about you? Do you surrender?"

Ladislaus smiled, looking for his sword. Finding it just out of his reach, he looked Jaune in the eyes. "Not this easily." Grabbing Jaune's sword by the blade, Ladislaus pulled it over his shoulder and out of Jaune's hands. Throwing it aside, Ladislaus crawled back to Romphaea, then to his feet, before striking at his weaponless opponent, landing several hits before Jaune moved to block him. Pausing to let Jaune collect his sword from the floor, he resumed the moment Jaune readied his sword. Whispers were already starting to spread that Ladislaus was just humouring his opponent, and that he could have ended it far earlier should he have wanted to.

Ladislaus took advantage of the fact that he'd forced Jaune into a defensive fight to check the Aura levels shown on the banners. Jaune had taken a beating, with his Aura having dropped to about half, while Ladislaus's own Aura was at a similar level. As he watched, however, his Aura dropped as he felt a stab of pain from his injury. _Can't let him win off my injury. He's got to feel like he's earned this. _Deciding to play his reaction to the pain to Jaune's advantage, he exaggerated his reaction slightly, allowing Jaune to repay the numerous blows he'd sustained. As Jaune's strikes continued to rain upon his armour and sword, Ladislaus was slowly forced to one knee.

Feeling the metal of Jaune's blade at his throat, he brought one hand up to push aside the sword, uttering the phrase "I concede the match" as he did so. Rising back to his feet, Professor Goodwitch dismissed them from the arena, disdainful of Jaune's victory being over an already-wounded opponent. Ladislaus still exchanged a handshake with him, as a courtesy. "Good fight, Jaune." As they walked back to the ready rooms, he continued. "You did this for Pyrrha, right? I wasn't just misreading everything?"

"Sort of. She's part of my team, and nobody messes with my team. Especially not Pyrrha."

Ladislaus grinned at the addendum. "So there is something between you two."

"What? No, no. A lot of people want to see her mess up, see that she's, you know, normal. I don't care how infallible she is or isn't. I just don't want people to keep trying to take shots at her."

"Fair enough. I wasn't trying anything like that when I fought her, by the way. I knew I didn't stand a chance, and wanted to see how far I could get. Don't exactly get a lot of chances to test myself like that in regular life."

"You and me both. Seems like everyone here's been fighting their whole lives. Feels kinda weird when you haven't, huh?"

"Yep. Just so we're clear, though: this duel means nothing. I said yes because I thought it would satisfy you. I'm still going to duel Pyrrha, just because it's fun to get my ass handed to me sometimes. That alright by you?"

Jaune cocked an eyebrow at this statement. "Big guy in armour finds almost being killed 'fun'. I'll admit, I haven't heard that before. Yeah, sure. Just don't try to kill her, please. I'm still learning."

Ladislaus laughed at the concept. "Jaune, the only way I've even got a hope of actually badly injuring Pyrrha is if I catch her by surprise. I don't think you've got anything to worry about. Anyway, see you around."

Returning to his seat amid his teammates, Ladislaus loosened his cuirass, feeling for any liquid underneath. "Think you pulled something down there, Laz?"

"No, Rox, I don't." Finding his hand to still be dry, he re-tightened his armour. "Jaune doesn't have much to show in actual swordplay, but when he does hit, it's not exactly a light tap. Wanted to make sure he didn't damage me any further than I already am."

"Now you're worried about hurting yourself? Where was this concern when you had all but shaken on fighting blonde and scraggly?"

Hearing Professor Goodwitch ask for another pair to duel, and the room's subsequent descent into silence, Ladislaus prayed somebody would pick Roxane, if for no other reason than so he wouldn't have to continue justifying his decision to fight Jaune. Finding no volunteers, Goodwitch began to single out individuals in the audience. "Miss Schnee, I don't recall seeing you spending much time training. Would you like to take advantage of this lesson to maintain your skills for the tournament, or are you confident enough?"

The white-haired girl who'd opened the door for Ladislaus when he went to return Ruby's semblance perked up at the mention of what Ladislaus assumed was her surname. _What was her name? White? Wise? Weiss. And she's a Schnee. The more you know. _"Professor Goodwitch, I would like to decline. While some may think I'm not tournament-ready, I've been experimenting with my style. Fencing does not easily lend itself to actual combat, I've found, and I'd like to change that."

"So much the better. If you're looking to improve, I'm sure the other students would be glad to assist you. Do we have any volunteers to duel Miss Schnee?"

Ladislaus looked amid the rows, noticing, with some amusement, that there was nobody willing to duel Weiss. _What are the odds her surname's terrifying a few into submission? _"Nobody's willing to duel Miss Schnee?" Ladislaus swore he could hear disappointment in Professor Goodwitch's voice. Taking advantage of Roxane's silence, he grabbed her arm and raised it. "Miss Mallor, is it? Good to see you're so willing to help."

Roxane stood, not willing to risk Goodwitch's ire should she claim she was set up, shooting daggers at Ladislaus all the while, before mouthing "I will get you back for this" as she walked to the ready room.

* * *

><p>Roxane strode out into the lights of the arena several minutes later, allowing Ladislaus to get a decent look at her choice of clothing, unimpeded by bushes or by nightfall. <em>Longcoat, loose-fitting shirt and pants, she certainly looks the part of somebody who works with animals. <em>It made for quite the contrast to her opponent, who wouldn't look out-of-place at a fashion show. Relishing the feeling of anticipation, he looked at both of their ready stances. Weiss stood in a manner that seemed more reminiscent of the fencers he'd read about than the stances of the other students: back straight, sword arm slightly extended, feet firmly planted shoulder-width apart. Roxane, on the other hand, was crouched low, SMGs akimbo, ready to charge Weiss the moment Goodwitch let them begin.

"Miss Schnee, as the defender, you have the initiative. The duel begins on your strike."

Weiss nodded, her eyes narrowing as she span a cylinder on her sword. Ladislaus leaned in closer, somewhat disbelieving. _Wait, is her guard… rotating? This just went from 'good entertainment' to 'must-watch'._ Weiss's sword appeared to settle on a colour at random from her guard, and she brought her sword in close to her chest. Roxane, slightly confused by all the ceremony Weis was putting into a single strike, relaxed her position. Her eyebrows only continued to rise as she saw Weiss make a series of gestures in front of her blade, before a series of circles began to manifest. Roxane quickly returned to her crouched pose, realising that Weiss's attack was going to be at a greater distance than she thought. Her suspicions were soon proved correct, as Weiss thrust through the glyphs, generating a line of ice directly at Roxane, which was easily evaded. What was more difficult to dodge, though, was the explosion of that line shortly afterwards, peppering Roxane with ice shards. Not wishing to give Weiss another opportunity to repeat her trick, Roxane rushed her, opening fire as she did so. Weiss revealed another ability of her peculiar glyphs in response, summoning one which appeared to absorb, or at least reflect, every shot Roxane took.

Roxane paused slightly, dumbfounded by the capabilities of these glyphs, only to be harshly jerked back to reality by Weiss's rapier striking her. As she soon discovered, Weiss's glyphs also served to amplify the force of anything on, or passing through, them. Taking advantage of the lull that resulted, Roxane checked her Aura on the banner. While Weiss was more or less unscathed by the fusillade that Roxane had loosed earlier, Roxane was taking a beating, with her Aura levels at about two-thirds of maximum from two attacks alone. Roxane decided to abandon her current strategy of keeping her distance, instead switching her weapons to their falcata forms before lunging at Weiss, hoping that her glyphs weren't as useful against blades as they were bullets. Roxane's hopes were validated when she managed to land a few strikes around Weiss's rapier, putting the other girl at a disadvantage for the first time in the duel. Not wishing to squander the opportunity, Roxane continued to bear down upon Weiss, forcing her backwards across the arena. However, Roxane's strikes began to slow as she exhausted, with a check of the Aura meters revealing that her minute-long assault had only managed to wear away half of Weiss's Aura, while Roxane's own was lower still.

She had time to raise an incredulous eyebrow at the dissimilarity before she heard what sounded like a large fire approaching her. Whipping her head around, she dived to the side, narrowly evading a wave of flames that came rushing at her. "That little… I'm going to wrap her wand around her neck." Reinvigorated by the event, Roxane redoubled her efforts to break down Weiss's Aura, hoping to bring the duel to an end before she had the opportunity to repeat.

It was plain to see that Roxane's strikes were having an effect, with Weiss's parries becoming more laboured in the execution. Everyone watched with keen interest as Weiss's meter seemed to haemorrhage Aura under the repeated slashes of Roxane's falcata, until Weiss turned the duel on its head, using a glyph to propel Roxane skywards, before generating a series to launch off herself, landing blow after blow while Roxane was too disoriented to react. Shortly after, the bar below Roxane's portrait turned red, and Weiss returned to the ground, with Roxane crumpling in a heap behind her.

"An impressive display, Miss Schnee. Perhaps you're more ready than your presence suggested." Turning to look at Roxane, Professor Goodwitch asked if she needed any help.

"No, ma'am. Just… collecting myself. Not exactly familiar with getting tossed in the air." Roxane shakily brought herself to her feet, staring resentfully at Ladislaus as she walked into the ready rooms. As she returned to her seat, Ladislaus murmured to her. "So, you'll get me back? I keenly look forward to it."

* * *

><p>As they left Duelling, Marcel moved to catch up with Ladislaus. "Roxane seemed really pissed off that she lost. She's conspiring with Catrin about something, and it's kinda scary that I have no idea what it is."<p>

Ladislaus laughed at the notion. "She's pissed because I volunteered her to fight Weiss so she'd shut up about why I'm an idiot for fighting Jaune. She said she'd get me back later, and I can only assume that the 'conspiring' you're talking about is that."

"So you were the one that volunteered her."

"What, are you saying that Roxane wouldn't volunteer herself?"

"I've known Roxane for a while. She's not exactly the proactive type. If she can be lazy about something, she'll gladly seize on the opportunity. But, as you're soon to discover, that does not extend to messing with her. If you want, I can make sure she doesn't get to your things. I cannot vouch for your personal safety, though."

Ladislaus's expression hardened at the fact that he was at physical risk from volunteering a teammate. "She's psychotic. And yes, please ensure she doesn't touch my stuff. Can you also give me a rough idea of what she has done to people?"

Marcel chuckled. "Oh, man. Where do I begin? There was one kid she tied to a tree because he decided to pull her out of it. Left him there all night. But, if you're looking for a revenge closer to what you did, she'll do something to you in your sleep. At best, it'll be a bowl of warm water. At worst, you'll wake up somewhere completely different. I'm not going to advise you sleep in regular clothes, as that'll just tell her that I tipped you off, and I'd rather not get caught up any more than I am. To be honest, a lot depends on how far she can convince Catrin to go with this."

Ladislaus shook himself back, having pictured most of what Marcel suggested and committed it to memory. "Splendid. Catrin's not exactly fond of me to begin with, so it won't take much convincing."

"Good luck, then. Not much else I can do for you that I haven't already." With that, Marcel fell back, hoping to try and overhear what the girls were plotting.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus didn't sleep much, taking hours longer than he normally would to finally doze off. As he slept, Roxane and Catrin, who had busied themselves assembling what they needed to exact vengeance, put their plan into action. Fastening Ladislaus to his bed, they moved him into the hallway. From there, the plan was simple. Move Ladislaus, and his bed, somewhere… unpleasant for him to wake up. Preferably elevated. If there was a sturdy enough tree, so much the better. Roxane, having the shorter frame, took the role of moving Ladislaus around, while Catrin scouted ahead to make sure they weren't discovered.<p>

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief as they got him out of the dorm. "So, Roxane, you got any ideas as to where you want to put him?"

Roxane didn't say a word in response, only smiling as she pulled out a coil of rope. "We've already tied him up, Rox. I don't think he needs more rope."

"No, the rope's not for tying him up some more. You remember when I was scouting the dorms earlier? I've got plans to string him up outside one dorm in particular."

Catrin listened with interest, before her eyes shot open at the use of the phrase 'string him up'. "Wait, we're not hanging him, are we? If we are, then I'm done here."

Roxane laughed, in a way that almost seemed like Catrin's refusal to help was just a funny joke. "No, we're not hanging _just _him. We're hanging him by his bed. Now, grab an end and follow my directions."

Catrin sighed resignedly, knowing that she was too involved to back out now, and helped Roxane carry the bed, and its hapless occupant, around the dorm building. When they reached a sufficiently tall tree, Roxane told Catrin to stop, while she pulled out her scroll. "Yep, this is the one. How's your tree-climbing? Because he's going up there, and I figured out a way that doesn't involve stupid amounts of pulling."

Catrin cocked an eyebrow at the request. "My tree-climbing's pretty good. It's how we met in the Forest, remember? And precisely what is your plan that doesn't involve having to pull him up there?"

Roxane smiled, bringing up a brief sketch she'd done earlier. "I remember that your semblance brings you back down to the ground to activate, so I'd assume that works regardless of the weight attached to you. Therefore, you are going to be a counterweight. That gets him up to the window I want him outside. As for how he'll stay up there, I'm still working on that. But I think there was an exposed pipe or something I could get you to aim for. So, tie this rope around your waist, or hold it in your hand, whatever suits you, and get up that tree."

Catrin thought of asking Roxane if she'd considered the destructive potential of her semblance in the plan, but decided not to. Roxane's scheme was already strange enough as it was, and she didn't want to give her any more ideas. Tying the rope around her waist, she started up the tree, reaching the branch that Roxane indicated, before glancing back down. "Alright Roxane. This plan better work as you wanted it to."

Roxane looked up at Catrin as she finished tying the knot. "Relax. The worst that could happen is you get dragged rather unceremoniously back up the tree. I think. Give me a sec to get done with this knot and I'll mark where I want you to land." Catrin watched from her perch as Roxane applied the finishing touches to the rope harness she'd fashioned around Ladislaus's bed and walked to the other side of the branch, using the light of her scroll to illuminate a slightly protruding section of pipe. "Aim for just behind this. If I did the math right, you should have about two seconds to get the rope off you and around that pipe before the force balance comes back."

"If." Catrin checked the knot she'd tied around herself. If she couldn't get it off her in those two seconds, then she was due for a rather unwelcome reunion with the tree she was currently in. Untying and retying it until she was confident she could at least get it off in under two seconds, she told Roxane to clear away from the pipe. Leaping out from the branch, Catrin willed herself down to the pipe. Feeling her semblance kick in against the weight she had tied around her, she grinned as the ground came rushing up to meet her. Landing near to where Roxane intended, she didn't waste time checking to see if she'd managed to pull up Ladislaus, instead quickly untying the knot and retying around the pipe. Mere moments after she finished the knot on the pipe, she heard the sound of metal groaning as the weight kicked back in. Catrin decided to get some answers for the finer points of Roxane's plan as they watched to make sure the improvised crane could hold their victim.

"So, Roxane. Did it occur to you that being yanked upwards would wake him up?"

"Yes, that was the first thing I planned for. I hit him in the head while I was tying his bed to you. He'll be out for a while yet."

"And did you think about how he'll get back down?"

"You climbed up there. He can climb down. Or jump. Or, as I hope he will, he'll ask for help from the dorm we put him outside."

"And that dorm is…"

"You remember that girl that beat me in the arena? Yeah. It's her team's dorm. Should be quite a laugh. In any case, we should get back to bed. I want to see this unfold naturally, but if he sees us here, he'll know who did it."

Catrin shook her head in incredulity. "He'll _already _know who did it! You said you'd get him back, for God's sake!"

Roxane shrugged, before walking away. "Eh. He'll never top this. Come on."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Hi again, Zip here. This concludes (for the present time) Jaune and Pyrrha's involvement in the storyline (outside of cameo appearances), with the focus instead shifting to members of team RWBY, and their interactions/reactions to LMRC, and a return to Ladislaus's church.

Next Chapter: A rather unwelcome introduction.


	9. Deceptiones et Consilia (The Reactions)

Ladislaus winced as bright light was cast upon him. "What the… Cat? What the hell did you do with the curtains?" Not hearing a response, he moved to get up, only stopping when he didn't feel the normal carpet beneath his feet. _Hang on. When did we get rid of the carpet? _Looking down to make sure that he wasn't imagining things, he clambered back onto the bed when he noticed his predicament. _Roxane._ "I'll admit, I'm impressed she did all this. Especially if she thought this up after Duelling." His monologue was soon interrupted by his noticing of a nearby window. "Huh. Do I have anything to get to it without jumping? No, of course I don't. I'm in sleepwear, on a bed, with sod-all else." His eyes lit up as he realised he wasn't totally helpless. "Except my voice."

Hoping he had been placed outside a dorm that would be somewhat sympathetic to his plight, he started shouting at the window. "Hey! Anyone in there? I'm stuck outside your window! Come on, at least take a friggin' look!" His cries continued for several minutes, during which he observed no movement inside the room. _Alright. Time for the absolute last resort._ Standing on his bed, he gauged the distance between himself and the wall. _Maybe fifteen feet. I like my chances._ Taking a few steps back from the edge, he got a feel for how the bed was moving, before taking a running leap at the dorm.

Impacting the wall, Ladislaus quietly cheered, before losing his footing. As he fell, he reached out to grab the ledge he was previously standing on, climbing back up. _Saved it. Like hell am I dropping from this height._ Shimmying along the ledge, Ladislaus steadied himself on the indent that held the window he wanted to get in, before knocking. _While the window might muffle my voice, it's not going to muffle a knock._ He was thoroughly unprepared for the response, though, as the window opened to reveal a large rifle pointed at him. Reflexively jumping out of sight, Ladislaus decided to open the conversation from out of the firing line. "Hi. I was strung up outside your room in my sleep. Mind if I come in?"

A voice, that Ladislaus almost immediately identified, responded. "Who are you? Because if it's Neptune, you've really got to stop hanging out with Sun if he does this to you." _Ruby?_

"No, it's not Neptune. It's Ladislaus. You know, the guy who stole your semblance four nights ago? That is, if I'm talking to who I think I am. Otherwise, I'm that guy who got beaten to within an inch of his life by Pyrrha Nikos."

A second voice elected to respond now. "You did _what _to Ruby?" Before Ladislaus could formulate a response, a hand came out from the room, dragging him in. Now that he was, willing or not, inside the room, he could see everyone who had been present. One, however, aside from the one who still held him after dragging him in, stood out. _Hang on, this is Weiss's team's room. Oh Roxane you little witch._ "Good morning ladies. I understand this is inconveniencing, but I'd love if you could let me get back to my team. A little disciplining is in order."

The girl who held him only seemed to get angrier at the thought that he would just leave. "Not yet. Firstly, you'll tell me _exactly _what you did to my sister. Secondly, you'll tell us what on Remnant caused you to be outside our room. Then, I'll think about it."

Ladislaus, not quite keen on getting into a fight unarmed, raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, I'll oblige you. But first, can you let go of me? I explain better when I'm not kneeling." The girl seemed to contemplate the idea, before releasing him from her grip. Now able to stand comfortably again, Ladislaus continued. "Thank you. Now, in the interests of fostering productive conversation, I know everyone's names except yours. At the moment, I see Blake, Weiss, Ruby, so who are you, outside of 'Ruby's sister'?" Ladislaus paused for a moment, only continuing when he noticed that the sour mood precluded him from getting any answers. "Alright. Tough crowd. Now, to your questions. 'Stealing her semblance' may have been a bit ungenerous. My semblance is Mimicry, and I needed to borrow your sister's semblance four nights ago for an experiment. I returned it that same night, after discovering that she'd been semblance-less, if that's the right word, the entire time."

Ruby's sister glanced around at her fellows, who agreed with Ladislaus's retelling. "Alright, so that explains the semblance thing. Now, the more pressing matter, for you at least. How did you get outside our dorm?"

Ladislaus walked over to the window, looking for his bed. "Over there. I was put up there by at least one person. I didn't much fancy walking through the lobby, so I decided I'd surrender myself to the kindness of strangers. That said, the current attitude seems to reflect more towards ejecting me out the same method I came in. Correct?"

Looking around the room, in much the same way as his interrogator had, he found that his belief about the room's atmosphere, while not entirely correct, was pretty accurate. Weiss and Blake were watching him closely, almost expecting him to try something while he was there. Ruby, however, appeared to be at ease, but the giant scythe she was wielding no doubt contributed to that. Ruby's sister simply regarded him with a look of scepticism. "Wait, you seriously don't believe that I was out there? _It's a thirty-something foot climb up a sheer wall! _There is no way I could make that in what I am currently. What I could do, though, is wake up thirty-something feet in the air, try and shout at the window to get your attention, only to have that not work, followed shortly after by me jumping to the ledge and edging along it to knock on your window. Now that I actually say it, that is kinda unbelievable."

This realisation brought out a snicker from Ruby, which was quickly quieted by Weiss. Ruby's sister was still pondering how plausible Ladislaus's theory was, when Blake, apparently tired of the goings-on, interrupted. "Yang, it doesn't matter how he got in. It's obvious he doesn't want to be here, and your investigation play's just making it awkward." Returning to her bed, she picked up a book. "You're free to go, Ladislaus. Try and not be outside our dorm again, though. I don't think Yang'll take kindly to it next time."

Ladislaus half-bowed at this supposed mercy, making his way to the door and out into the hall. _Roxane is going to have hell to pay for this._ As he walked out, he bumped into Jaune and his team coming out of their room. "What the – Ladislaus?"

"Morning Jaune." When he didn't receive a response, Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at Jaune's dumbstruck expression. "It was a long, rough night. And morning." He watched Jaune's face grow increasingly astounded as he spoke. As the realisation sank in, Ladislaus's grin widened. "My word is my bond, amice. See you." Satisfied that he'd confused Jaune enough, he set off down the corridor.

Minutes later, Ladislaus's jovial mood had evaporated, replaced instead by anger. Knocking on the door to his dorm, his sour demeanour was only broken by Marcel opening the door for him. "Thank you Marcel." Striding into the centre of the room, he found the rest of his team waiting patiently for his return. "Good to see you back, altar boy. Wondered where you went."

"Shut it, Catrin. Time and a place for snark. Now is neither." Rounding on his intended target, he unleashed. "Roxane. Do you have _any _idea what I went through to get back here? I mean, sure, credit for the intricacy of your plan, but if you _ever_ try anything like that with me again… There is a phrase that I've heard, 'beware the anger of gentle men'. You would do well to heed it. At the present, I'm content to chalk up what you did to tomfoolery. But, should it happen again, you will _dearly_ regret it." Turning to look at the other members of his team, he finished. "You two would also do well to keep that in mind. If you have a problem with me, confront me with it. Otherwise, let it die." Inhaling deeply, he shut his eyes. When he opened them, there was no hint of the fury they previously held. "Anyway, now that that's dealt with, let's grab breakfast."

* * *

><p>Ladislaus's team kept their distance from him after his outburst, and were remarkably, uncharacteristically, quiet. Ladislaus caught on to it quickly, but thought little of it, assuming that they were simply trying to avoid setting him off again. However, when they didn't even raise a murmur during yet another of Port's classes where he spun off into some anecdote about his Grimm-slaying days, Ladislaus grew tired of it. He allowed it to continue unhindered for the remainder of their classes, but decided to press the matter when they reconvened in their room.<p>

"Alright, guys, listen. I think I might have been a little hard on you this morning. Keeping quiet like a herd of scared kittens isn't going to help matters any. I'm not going to apologise for what I said, but I am going to apologise for how I said it. I could have phrased it in a less inflammatory way."

When he was still met with total silence, he sighed. "Can I at least get some noises that show you're fine with what I just said or something? Repenting in a vacuum isn't exactly easy."

More silence.

Ladislaus threw his hands up in exasperation, turning and walking out. "Sod it. I'm done. I would have stayed in church if I wanted to be overwhelmed with silence."

As he left, he could have sworn he heard at least one of them start laughing. _Of course. They did all that to mess with me. Should've seen that coming._ This train of thought continued as he walked through the halls, right until he collided with another person. "Who- Professor Ozpin. I'm sorry, sir, I'll endeavour to watch where I'm going next time."

Ozpin checked himself over, paying particular attention to the cup of coffee that, in hindsight, Ladislaus had never seen him without. "It's fine, Ladislaus. Team problems?"

"No, sir. Just working out my plans for the weekend. On account of my… status here, I was unsure if certain privileges applied."

"You're concerned that because you're at Beacon in lieu of a prison sentence, you don't think that you're eligible to walk around the city. Am I correct?"

Ladislaus nodded, hope starting to ignite within his eyes. "Yes sir. I have no idea if you're able to pull any more strings than I'm sure you have had to, but I would be indebted to you if that could be arranged."

"I would imagine that Vale's police force could be persuaded to believe that, on account of Beacon's own isolation, your continued presence down in the city is for personal visits, and not for any further… indiscretions. But that would require you to refrain from committing those indiscretions. Can you be trusted?"

Ladislaus allowed a brief moment of childlike glee to escape his so-far stoic state, before returning to it to continue the conversation. "Yes sir. As I told my parents, and, God willing, as they told you, it was a ploy to get into Beacon. I'll refrain from participating in any acts that the Kingdom may find reprehensible, but I cannot guarantee that I will not continue to associate with people of same discrimination. So, do I have permission, or did I just blow it?"

Ozpin smiled, sipping from his coffee. "All I heard was that you agree not to commit any crimes while you're in Vale. I also heard you agree that you'll remain easily-detectable to Beacon staff and to notify the guards at the skyport when you are expected to return. Beyond that, I didn't hear anything."

Ladislaus ran over the criteria in his head, before nodding enthusiastically, thanking Ozpin and returning to his dorm room, all slights against him forgotten.

When Ladislaus walked in, his team was mildly unsettled by the ecstatic smile on his face, because they'd, for a laugh, tried to see just how close to madness they could drive him through being quiet, and it looked like he'd finally snapped. Roxane broke the silence, inquiring as to what may have made him so happy.

"The fact that I can go to Vale for the weekend. I've already got my schedule sorted out. Why're you asking?"

"I didn't think being able to go to Vale in our off time was a special thing, but whatever floats your particular boat. I asked because there was a risk that you might have gone insane and came back to kill us all."

Ladislaus laughed at the concept, with the laugh slowly fading away as he realised that they weren't joking. "Wait, you really expected the fact that you were all unusually quiet to drive me insane? You have no idea how quiet churches can get. It's actually pretty awe-inspiring. Your own impression was well-done, but more because I'm used to hearing you speaking when I'm not than any eeriness that your silence may induce. And yes, going to Vale isn't a big deal for you guys, but I'm not here to the same degree you guys are." Already seeing the question start to appear on his team's lips, he pre-empted their asking. "And that's a story for another day. We'll not talk about that now. I've got arrangements to make."

He ended the conversation, leaving his team just as intrigued as before, if only for different reasons now. As he gathered his things, he hummed a tune; his own way to get back at his team for their silence earlier. Seeing as his humming was only eliciting, at most, a raised eyebrow, he escalated to singing. "Vale Salvatoris, Rex Creationis, Filius Dei et Hominis! Vere ego amare te, Vere ego serve te, Lumen meum cordis, mea gaudis, mea corona." Pausing to gauge the reaction, he smiled as he saw them begin to confer, before turning to him. "Laz, what the hell are you singing? And will you stop?"

Ladislaus answered them in the same language he was singing in. "Ego canit hymnis. Fruor cantus, quid ego ita concesso?" He noticed that his teammates were growing increasingly annoyed by his choice of language, and let his smile widen. _All according to plan, but I shouldn't overdo it. _"Two can play at the 'random things that would really annoy other people' game, guys. That's just the start of mine. Anyway, let that be a lesson to you, et cetera. I'm going to go say hi to my parents, and some other people that the police would rather I didn't. See you guys in a couple of days."

As Ladislaus left the room for a second time that afternoon, his team shared faces that held a mixture of confusion and annoyance. Marcel broke the involuntary silence that had fallen. "What the hell language was he speaking? It wasn't a Vacuan or Mistrali dialect. I've met enough of both to have a good idea of what they sound like."

"Honestly, I'm at a loss. I mean, I've heard things that sound like it when I've gone through some of Vale's slightly more… underworld areas, but I thought that was some kind of criminal code."

"Laz did mention he was visiting people that the police don't want him to. I wouldn't eliminate that idea so quickly."

"Think we can figure him out?"

"Possibly. Anyone keen on gatecrashing his city leave, or do we have to get sneaky?"

Catrin looked at Marcel and Roxane, considering her options for a moment. "I say gatecrash. I'd love to try and follow him like we're in a spy movie, but I don't trust either of you that far."

Roxane stared forlornly at Catrin, saddened that her compatriot didn't trust her enough to sneak around. "I say Catrin gatecrashes. If you and I aren't trustworthy enough, Marcel, I say we leave it to her. In any case, if she blows it, we can give her flak for screwing up our chances."

Marcel sighed contentedly. "Then it's the strategy we use. Catrin, you are going to accompany Ladislaus back to his church. How awkward you make it is up to you. Me and Roxane are going to entertain ourselves up here, and maybe do some reading. I've heard there's a library, so there might be a book about it. Good luck all, see you on the return."

* * *

><p>While his team conspired, Ladislaus was getting himself cleared with the guards. "Yes, sirs. I am aware that I am wearing plate armour. I am also aware that I am carrying a weapon, and that there is more armour in my pack. This is planned, trust me."<p>

"A student 'planning' on bringing weapons and armour into Vale?"

"My God. Beacon's not a separate Kingdom, guys. It's still a part of Vale. I shouldn't need to be subjected to inter-regnal customs checks. As long as I'm not bringing a bomb down, I should be fine."

"Look, kid. I'm going to tread out the same line I have to every entitled little Hunter that wanted to bring enough gear to fight a siege. 'In light of the attacks on Vale's defenses, any sufficiently alarming sights are prohibited so as to avoid causing unnecessary panic.' Now, the part that applies to you is the last one. Your armour, irrespective of how important it is, or how much sentimental value it holds, is considered an 'alarming sight'. You have an issue with it, you can take it up with the Vale Council. Now either lose the armour or go back to Beacon. Your choice."

Ladislaus checked his pack for his standard emergency supplies for these situations. "I've got a thousand lien that says my armour's not alarming."

"I'm sorry, are you trying to bribe me?"

"No sir. I'm simply offering to donate to help ensure the continued security of both Vale and Beacon, while at the same time ensuring that the difference between an alarming sight and a prepared citizen is well-defined to our ever-watchful guards. So, thousand lien says me and my weapon and armour get through. How about it?"

The guard Ladislaus was addressing looked to his partner, who had been looking on with amusement at the whole affair, and whose only response was a non-verbal 'give me the money'. "Make it two thousand, and you've got a deal."

Ladislaus checked his bag carefully, looking for every last lien he'd kept in storage. "Man, you guys have quite the entry fee."

"You set the price. Now, two thousand or ditch your metal."

"Yeah, yeah. Just a little bit… and there." Producing a mess of notes, Ladislaus placed them into the hand of the guard he was talking to. "Pleasure doing business with you."

The guard stopped Ladislaus while he counted them out. "… eighteen hundred, nineteen hundred, two thousand. Yep, you're good. Have fun in Vale."

Ladislaus nodded, walking past the guards. _Don't tell me I have to grease their palms to get back in. _As he walked, he heard the signature clap of high heels on polished stone. Looking over his shoulder, he prepared to run for the airship should it prove to be Professor Goodwitch. Instead, to his consternation, he saw one of his teammates. _Catrin? What the hell's she going to Vale for?_ Choosing to ignore this unusual interruption, he continued to the airship.

"Hey, wait up!"

_Goddammit. _He sighed as he heard Catrin's footsteps grow closer. "Do you have _nothing _better to do than follow me around, Cat?"

"Who said I was going to Vale to follow you? I have my reasons."

"Fair enough. It's a big city. So who are you visiting?"

"Family, friends, the usual. Might see if they still have Dust for sale. You heard about the shortage? Who am I kidding, of course you have. Even a church wouldn't be that far under a rock. Would they?"

"I was aware of the shortage, yes, but it didn't affect us much. We've got Dust in storage that goes back to some of the earliest uses of the stuff. Of course, that doesn't mean it's still potent. But the fact remains that there's still a ton of Dust in my church. If you want to top off your supply, you can tag along."

"Thanks for the offer. Might still stop in at From Dust Till Dawn anyway. The shopkeeper's nice enough, and he could probably use the money."

"By my eyes and ears, is our resident cynic actually a caring person? If this is what you're like outside Beacon, it's refreshing."

Catrin laughed at the surprise in Ladislaus's voice. "It's that hard to believe that I'm not always snarky and unimpressed? Come on, Ladislaus. Nobody shows all their cards on the first round."

"I can understand that. First rule of dealing with people, right? Never be totally honest with them."

"Something like that." Catrin did a double-take as she realised who was preaching this philosophy of dishonesty. "Hold on, what's an altar boy doing telling people to be dishonest?"

"If you really want to know, ask me when we get back. You have your out-of-Beacon personality, I've got my in-the-fold personality. "Yes pater, no pater, I've been praying thrice a day pater", and all that. Takes a while, on account of remembering the customs. So, if I could get some quiet on the way down?"

Catrin shrugged, stepping onto the Bullhead behind Ladislaus. "Good evening, students. To Vale, I presume?"

"Yes, thanks. Don't wait up, though. My friend's got plans of staying cityside all weekend."

"How romantic. We'll be there in about 15 minutes, give or take."

Catrin rolled her eyes at the thought that the trip was 'romantic'. It was information-gathering, not much else. If she had to put on the façade, so be it, but that's what it would remain.

Glancing at her target, she watched him murmur things under his breath the entire way down, eyes tightly shut. She could make out snippets of it, enough to know he was speaking whatever language he was singing in back in the dorm. She thought about getting her scroll out and recording as much as she could, but she didn't want to risk him catching on. He wasn't as unworldly as some other church members she'd met, and he'd no doubt be familiar with people trying to figure out his secrets.

Catrin spent most of the trip pacing around the Bullhead's bay, watching as Ladislaus added hand gestures to his murmuring, before abruptly falling silent. This silence drew Catrin's attention, bringing her eyes up from his hands.

"So, enjoy the show?"

Catrin cocked her head at the question. "What? You knew I was watching?"

"Come on, Cat. Common sense applies. You and I are the only ones here, the pilot's not exactly talkative, and I'm doing things that would make me seem crazy in normal society. It'd be weird if you didn't look."

The Bullhead shook as it docked with Vale. "Alright lovebirds, here we are. Might I recommend Dandelar's as a good restaurant? Don't order the poultry, though. It might not be what they say it is."

Ladislaus, having tuned out the pilot until then, raised an eyebrow at the apparently random sentence. "Thanks for the heads up." Looking to Catrin for explanation, he frowned as she revealed she was equally confused.

Disembarking from the Bullhead, they both moved to the nearest exit. "Alright, so where's this church you hail from? I mean, my Dust canisters won't fill themselves."

Ladislaus snorted at the partial restoration of Catrin's attitude from Beacon, before beckoning for her to follow him. "Word of warning: you're dressed far better than most of the people who live around the church. Don't be weirded out by their staring, though. That'll just piss them off."

Catrin drew her jacket slightly tighter as he spoke, before following him down the sidestreets.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

The Latin is extensive in this piece, I'll admit. I'll include translations here, because I understand Google Translate is unreliable.

"Vale Salvatoris... Mea Corona" is an adjusted translation of the first verse of the hymn "Beautiful Saviour", which is as follows:

_Beautiful Saviour, King of Creation,_

_Son of God and Son of Man!_

_Truly I'd love Thee, Truly I'd serve Thee,_

_Light of my soul, my joy, my crown._

The next piece of Latin is Laz saying "I am singing. I an enjoying my singing, so why should I stop?" because he's being a bit of a bastard.

Anyway, that should cover the Latin that was used that isn't already in common usage.

Next Chapter: Laz is 'welcomed' back to church.

- Zip


	10. Irae Silentium (The Inquiries)

After several minutes of walking through Vale's myriad sidestreets, Ladislaus led Catrin out in front of a large building, encapsulated in an iron fence. "Here we are. The headquarters of the Cerulan Order of Vale. Just follow my lead, don't deride them for being idealists, and we should be fine." Rummaging around in his pack, he produced a key. "Here's the key to the attic. All the Dust's up there."

Ladislaus took the lead, walking up the path to the church's main door. As he went to push the door open, he heard voices from within. Pausing, he thought of what ceremonies could be taking place. "Something up, Laz?"

"No, no. I think there might be a ceremony going on. Give me a sec, I'll use the side door."

Walking around to the side door, he opened it, finding that one of the volunteers was standing near it. "Eleanor? What's going on?"

He appeared to have caught her by surprise, based on her reaction. "Who- Ladislaus?" As her surprise faded, Ladislaus noticed her face harden to one of concern. "You have to leave. Apparently you've managed to get an Elder called, and he's out for blood."

"Eleanor, if it's a Princeps, it won't matter if I run. He's not going to stop. God willing, it's just a Commendator, because they're a bit more reasonable." Ladislaus inhaled, closed the door, and walked back around to the front. "Good news, Cat. If Eleanor is to be believed, I pissed off somebody pretty high up in the leadership. Bad news, he's here right now. Hold my pack." Passing his pack to Catrin, he retrieved the armour pieces he had inside it. As she took it, he clasped her hand. "I'll be needing this, as well."

Closing his eyes, he cloned Catrin's semblance, before letting go. After ensuring his armour was properly attached and secured, he pushed open the door, revealing the true scope of the event to him. Flanking him as he walked in were two people, while the 'Elder' that Eleanor mentioned was talking to Ladislaus's parents in front of the altar. Even from across the chapel, Ladislaus could see his parents' faces turn from uncertainty to shock. The man questioning them turned around, and Ladislaus's breathing stilled as he saw the emblem on the man's tunic. "Oh, dammit. You're not one of the leaders."

The man smiled, pleased that he'd found his target. "Ladislaus, I presume? You're correct, though. I am not one of the leaders. Do you know who I am?"

Ladislaus swallowed, steeling himself in the face of this man. "You're a member of the Silentium. They only get used to rectify serious errors in the Order, and were dissolved eighty years ago, in keeping with the demilitarisation of the Order. How are you still alive?"

"Well done." The man applauded Ladislaus's summary, and beckoned for his henchmen to do so as well. "Your memory is _very _good, Ladislaus. You are correct, of course. The Silentium were dissolved in the final purge, but some escaped. They took their skills, and they fell in with other chapters. If you wish to know, I am from the Mistrali chapter. Now, as for your crimes against the Order, they are… severe. You brought a bad name upon the Vale chapter with your repeated offenses, and then you have the audacity to enrol at Beacon. Of course, that final charge should be immediately understandable to you, shouldn't it?"

"Enrolling at Beacon? I remember that the Order holds the Hunters responsible for a raid on the headquarters outside Vale three centuries ago. I fail to see how that is an offense."

The man shook his head, not in disagreement, but in disappointment. "Oh, and I thought you had so much _potential_. By enrolling at Beacon, you are _validating _their assault on our Order. Tell me, before the Hunters truly expanded beyond the borders of the Kingdoms, who did the villages turn to?"

"The Order. And now that the Order has grown soft, I am falling in with those that can help. I've been thinking about this for fourteen years, running every single scenario out. I want to help people, and the Order does not afford me the option." Moving his hand to his weapon, he finished. "You will not change my mind on this."

The man sighed, before waving to the men either side of Ladislaus. "A pity. You know what I must do, then. If you refuse to be 'enlightened', then the only other punishment is… unpleasant. Deal with him."

Behind him, Ladislaus heard the sound of metal leaving leather, and leapt forwards. Wincing as he landed, he was all-too-painfully reminded of his still-healing injury. _I don't stand a chance like this. I've got to get Catrin in here._ Drawing his own weapon, he waited to see what form it would take. He quietly gave thanks as it unfolded into a sword again. _Now, to get around those two._ Looking at his hand, he thought about using Catrin's semblance, but realised he wouldn't be able to get enough force to unsteady them with his weakened version.

Returning his focus to his opponents, he smiled darkly and raised his sword. "Come on then. Confuto mihi."

* * *

><p>Catrin had her ear pressed to the door from the moment Ladislaus walked into the church. While the door's thickness made it difficult to hear exactly what was said, it could not quite silence the sound of weapons being drawn. Catrin drew back, and tried to push the door open, only to find it unable to open. Her eyes flicked from one place to another, searching for an entrance. "Come on, come on… where's your entrances… Ah! Side door." Her eyes shot open at that realisation. Sprinting around the church to the side entrance, she barged through the door. A voice echoed from within. "An interloper. Your crimes continue to grow, Ladislaus." Catrin scowled at the condescension in the voice, before unrolling her whip and rushing into the main chapel.<p>

As she entered, she was treated to the sight of Ladislaus attempting to fight off two men, while a third, who seemed much older, watched with amusement. "Cat, listen. It's great you're trying to help." Ladislaus paused to parry another blow. "But these guys aren't exactly the kind to be whipped into submission. They're grim folk, yes, but they're not Grimm."

Catrin pressed a button inlaid into the handle, and a series of blades proceeded to appear along the whip's length. "This wasn't designed for Grimm, Laz. This was made for people." Advancing on the nearest of the two attacking Ladislaus, she took advantage of the lack of a helmet to unleash a flurry of strokes at the man's head, inflicting several deep gashes on him, before he caught her whip as it went for more. Using the whip to pull her closer, the man prepared to swing at her when a fireball ignited on his hand, forcing him to drop his sword. Catrin looked to Ladislaus, who had taken the shot in between defending himself against his own assailant. "Don't just stand there, Cat! Beat the hell out of him!"

Yanking her whip from his hand, Catrin knocked him to the ground, before tying the whip around his neck, and pulling. She maintained her grip until the man stopped struggling, at which point she relented. After she had ensured that he wasn't about to climb back to his feet, she removed her whip from around his neck, keeping a vigilant eye on him to make sure he didn't wake up in the process. When she finished, she looked over to Ladislaus, who was fighting a losing battle. She sized up his opponent, looking for weaknesses. Unlike the one she'd just taken down, the one Ladislaus had been fighting was fully armoured, eliminating the potential to choke him like she had his accomplice. _Well, gravity does not look kindly upon those in heavy clothing._ Looking to his legs, she brought her whip around to wrap one of them, and bring him crashing to the floor.

Her attempt to fell Ladislaus's opponent did not go unnoticed, as he turned when he felt the whip wrap around his lower leg. Whatever reaction he may have had, though, was impaired when suddenly his entrapped leg was dragged out from underneath him, pulling him to the ground. Ladislaus wasted no time, crouching over his opponent as he withdrew the parrying dagger from his sword's hilt. "Not what you were expecting, no?" Before he could respond, Ladislaus drove the dagger through one of the helmet's eyeslits, before slicing from one end to the other. When the body only moved with the dagger's motions, Ladislaus withdrew it from the helmet, pausing only to wipe it on his robes, before replacing it in its place. "A most impressive display, Ladislaus. How truly fortunate you are to have outsiders willing to risk themselves for you."

Ladislaus stood and walked towards the man responsible. "They don't try and kill me for enrolling at Beacon, so they're a hell of a lot more trustworthy than the Order at the moment. And please, don't try and justify your decision by quoting the Codex at me. There is _nothing_ in that book that explains your acts here. After all, is not the most cardinal sin in there inciting violence inside a compound?"

The man regarded Ladislaus with derision as he approached, only raising his eyebrows in surprise when Ladislaus questioned him. "Yes, but I did not incite the violence. You, as I recall, refused to submit for the appropriate punishment, and led me to violence as a means of subduing you. As you can see, I am unarmed, and by the same passage you are using, cannot be claimed to have incited the violence you accuse me of."

Ladislaus scowled, holstering his sword. "Catrin, go and grab whatever Dust you need. I'll be a while." As he came within arm's reach of the man who'd presided over the attack, Ladislaus grabbed him by his tunic, bringing the man to eye level. "Domine absolvum mea acta."

Catrin turned and headed for where Ladislaus had told her the attic was. Her climbing of the ladder up was punctuated by Ladislaus alternating between single sentences, incomprehensible to Catrin's ears, and the sound of metal striking flesh. As a counterpoint to Ladislaus's oddly tranquil beating, the man simply laughed off every sentence Ladislaus spouted, with his laughter seeming to follow Catrin everywhere. Even when she found the Dust containers in the attic, his laughter remained as loud as it had been when she started climbing.

* * *

><p>When Catrin returned from the attic, the only people who remained in the chapel were Ladislaus and the Silencer that had tried to kill him. As she walked towards him, she saw that he was now holding up the man, fist raised to rain another blow upon him. "Finis coronat opus. Nemo me, et mea familia, impune lacessit, spurius." Ladislaus punched the man one last time, before letting him drop to the floor. "Are you done?"<p>

"Yes, I've got all the Dust I need. Have you been punching him the entire time?"

"He died about two minutes after you left. I kept going because I wanted to send a message. There's going to be at least one more within a block of here, whose job it is to ensure the first guy succeeded, and, if he didn't, find out what happened."

Catrin recoiled from Ladislaus at this news. "You've been punching a dead body for eight minutes? What about respect for the dead?"

Ladislaus turned around, walking towards Catrin. "Respect is given to those that earn it. By violating the Codex, he lost the right for me to respect him even from a religious standpoint. The fact that he's dead doesn't change that, in my opinion."

Catrin regarded Ladislaus warily as he passed, taking note of the blood liberally splashed on his armour, before following him out. He stopped at the entrance to collect his pack, and place the Dust canisters that Catrin was carrying into them, and set off down the path, with Catrin in tow. They walked in silence to the gate, before Ladislaus paused. "You don't like that I beat him to a pulp."

"No reasonable person would, Laz. I don't have a problem with the fact you killed him, I don't doubt he would have kept coming back and taunting you if you hadn't. What I've got the problem with is that you punched him enough that he's wound up all over the front of your armour. _Nobody_ deserves that."

Ladislaus continued to walk, angered by Catrin's complaint about his resolution. "And that is where your worldview and mine differ, Cat. You think that it's possible for people to back down, irrespective of their reasons to fight. I grew up being taught that anyone who sought to injure me or those close to me deserved no mercy. It might not have looked like it, but it was as much a mental battle when I fought Pyrrha as it was physical. When she stabbed me, it took all my effort to not move to kill her outright. The Silencer back there, he threatened me personally, and I know he would have killed everyone I love to get to me. By the metric I've used, he deserved the opposite of mercy. If you take nothing else from what I'm saying, take this: Everything I do, monstrous or not, is so that whatever I'm doing it to never comes back for more."

Catrin began to reply, before stopping herself as she realised that nothing she could say would sway him from what he said. "I'll see you back at Beacon."

Ladislaus nodded, pausing as he turned. "Stay safe. If you're not at Beacon when I get back, I'm going hunting for you."

Catrin suppressed a shudder as she got another look at the front of Ladislaus's armour, spattered all over with blood and viscera. The two departed, Catrin to Beacon, if for no other reason than to escape Ladislaus, and Ladislaus for the seedier side of Vale.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus wandered for what seemed like hours, discovering the place he was looking for just as midnight fell. Walking into the building, he stopped when he couldn't hear the music that normally blared from within. Drawing his sword, he continued inwards, hoping that he wouldn't have to face another encounter with the Silentium. As he came to the entry, he heard voices coming from the bar. Peeking around the side revealed that the voices belonged to the bartender, a man named Junior, and a girl he was talking with. Thankful that he hadn't walked into another Silentium ambush, he holstered his sword.<p>

"Hey, barman! Why's the music out?"

Ladislaus's question drew the attention of both the bartender and the girl he was talking to, who turned to see who was asking such a question. Ladislaus blinked as he saw who the girl was, but any acknowledgement was interrupted by the bartender.

"Lazarus! Sorry to say, but we're busy at the moment."

Ladislaus crossed the floor to the bar, taking note of the people standing near the edges of the room. "What happened? Did your floor break or something?"

The girl coughed, trying to draw the conversation back to her. "Oh, hey. I don't believe we were properly introduced." Removing his gauntlet, Ladislaus extended a hand towards the girl. "I'm Ladislaus, the guy you dragged through a window this morning. Your name is…"

Ladislaus smirked as the girl searched her memory for the event. "That was you?"

"Yeah. You still haven't told me your name, by the way."

"It's Yang. But didn't Blake say that anyway? But then again, I don't remember you explaining how you got outside our room."

"Long story. Teammates strung my bed up, with me in it. I could have jumped to the ground, or I could have gone in through your room. I chose your room. I did not expect that it'd be an all-girls room, nor that I'd get dragged in by somebody with…" Ladislaus trailed off as he searched for the words, but nodded to the particular parts of her that he was referring to, "… in a singlet. But enough about that. Mind if I cut in a little longer? I'll ask my question then you and the barman can get back to whatever you were discussing."

Yang's face reddened at Ladislaus's recollection, before spotting Junior observing her with more-than-academic interest. Grabbing him by the chin, she readjusted his gaze. "Hey. Eyes are up here." As Ladislaus finished asking permission, Yang nodded, wanting him to leave before he dredged up any further memories of the morning. It was hard enough getting Junior to focus without giving him any ideas about what she might look like outside of her normal clothes.

"Thank you." Turning to Junior, Ladislaus posed his question. "Is Basil here?"

Realising an opportunity for business, Junior tapped his fingers on the bar. "I don't think I remember seeing a 'Basil', but perhaps I could be persuaded…"

Ladislaus sighed and shook his head before turning to Yang. "Sorry, this might be a little longer than I hoped." Having apologised for the time he might waste, he reached over the bar, grabbing Junior by the collar, and pulled him close. "I'm not quite in the mood to play games. A few hours ago, a man tried to kill me for going to Beacon. I beat him to death. Basil owes me money, and I am _not _getting back on that Bullhead until I find him. If you want me gone before I lose my temper, you would do well to give me his location. So, I'll ask again. Where. Is. Basil?"

Junior attempted to make another appeal for money from Ladislaus, which was swiftly rewarded with Ladislaus dragging him over the bar, dropping him to the floor. "Last time. If you want to come up from the floor in one piece, tell me what I want to know. Basil. Where. Now."

To emphasise his point, Ladislaus drew his sword, holding it over Junior, ready to drop at a moment's notice. This act caused everyone in the room, save Yang, to reflexively draw their own weapons and aim them at Ladislaus. Bringing his gaze away from his victim, he snorted at the show of force. "I hear one shot, and this sword goes into your boss's neck, before I bring this whole place down. Are you willing to risk it?"

He looked back down at Junior, and saw him frantically waving at his men to put their guns away. "Ah. So, do you have something to tell me?"

Junior kept a close watch on the blade dangling over his torso as he answered. "Basil's in the back rooms. That enough for you?"

Ladislaus smiled, without a hint of malice or ill intents, and put his sword away, offering a hand instead. "It's not the best, but I'll take it. Do I have your word that I can leave this place unmolested once I have what I'm here for?"

Junior raised an eyebrow, confused by the sudden change in mood from his attacker, before accepting the hand. "Sure. But I don't think they would have been a problem anyway."

"Good. He's all yours, Yang." With that, Ladislaus walked into the club's private rooms.

* * *

><p>"Basil! Hey, Basil! Where the hell are you?"<p>

Basil poked his head out from one of the rooms. "Laz? Goddamn, Laz, you're alive!"

"A little fire isn't going to kill me, Basil. You should know better."

"Dude, even if the fire didn't kill you, the police were _everywhere_. How did you get out?"

Walking into the room Basil was leaning out of, Ladislaus explained. "Short answer, I didn't. Longer answer, I didn't, but I negotiated for them to let me into Beacon with the attack groups."

"Wait, you're at Beacon now?"

"Yep. Yours truly is now a Hunter-in-training. But enough about me. You and the others manage to get rid of all the stuff we bagged at that shop?"

"Yep. Total value was, after fencer's fees, about 30,000 lien. Not bad for four hours, huh?"

"Bas, all we broke into was Dust shops for those four hours. Considering the shortage, it's no bloody wonder that we got thirty thou. Where's my share?"

Basil became much more uncomfortable at the mention of Ladislaus's share. "Uh… The others decided to split it when we saw you get caught in the blast."

"Nil honorem inter fures. That still means that each of you got an extra fifteen hundred lien. So, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like that fifteen hundred from you."

Basil reached into a pocket and produced his wallet and began searching through it. "Fifteen hundred… do I _have_ fifteen hundred…" Basil snuck a glance to Ladislaus, and noticed that he was adorned with blood. "Dear God, I hope I do… ah. One thousand…" Basil passed the money to Ladislaus, who began to count it to make sure. "One hundred… two… three… oh crap…"

Ladislaus looked up from his counting. "What?"

"Got thirteen-fifty on me. The other hundred and fifty I can get for you by next week."

"By next week, you'd best have the other four and a half thousand that was in my share. I'm serious, man. Frickin' guards at Beacon charge an arm and a leg now to get your weapons from Beacon to Vale. Or, at least, in my experience they do."

Basil chuckled, seeing the opportunity to make a particularly bad joke. "With the way you're dressed, I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Whose limbs did you take?"

Ladislaus looked down, spreading his arms to best show the extent of the blood. "Oddly enough, this was for a completely unrelated reason. A reason that kinda blew my whole 'Beacon all week, Vale all weekend' plan."

Basil frowned. Whenever things went badly for Ladislaus, they went badly for everyone he was with. "Great. How bad? Slumlord, crime boss, police department…?"

When Ladislaus denied each of the stated groups, Basil's eyes widened in terror. Leaning in, he whispered. "The Vale Council?"

Ladislaus sighed at Basil's blind guesses. "Not the Council. Worse. My old church."

"Wait, 'old church'? I thought you were with the Ceruleans, or whatever."

"That's the one. The Cerulans."

"Oh great. Dude, a crisis of faith isn't that bad. You'll be nervous for a while, then you'll realise that it's not so bad, and that you don't need a god watching over you."

"Bas, calling it a 'crisis of faith' is being exceedingly polite. It's closer to 'I disobeyed my church and now their Internal Affairs want my head'."

"But your church is all peace and love and helping out the little guy, isn't it? I mean, that's how you met me."

"Not all the time. About eighty years ago they made the switch to full-time charity, and were supposed to have purged the Silentium. Of course, you get a bunch of feel-goods to do something cruel, and it gets half-assed, so you've got survivors running all over Remnant on behalf of the other Kingdoms. I just came from my church, where the sneaky prick was interrogating my parents. Me and a friend dealt to his bodyguards, and then… let's just say I vented my anger, while he vented blood. And that is why I'm covered in it. Now, with all that said, I'll be back here next week, come hell or Grimm. I'm expecting you to be here as well, because that'll be the last time I'll associate with you in a public place. The Silentium doesn't care who tangentially related you are to me. They _will _use you to get to me, and will kill you if they have to. Am I clear?"

Basil stood, walking out into the club. "Crystal. See you next week, man. Good luck with your fanatic problem."

Ladislaus remained in the room a while longer, pondering how he would explain everything when he got back. _'My church has ostracized me because I entered Beacon, and sent their hitmen after me.' Yep, still sounds crazy. _Sighing, he left the room, stopping by the bar to give Junior a hundred-lien note as an apology.

* * *

><p>As he left the club, he was stopped. His hand instinctively went for his sword, but he stopped when the person who stopped him came into view. "I didn't think you'd wait for me, Yang. I was under the impression that I'd get what I needed, you'd get what you needed, and we'd go our separate ways."<p>

"That was before you almost killed Junior. I don't care who you think you are, Laz. If I see you pull something like that again, on _anyone_, I will strike you down with the kind of destruction you could only dream of. You're at Beacon. You're a Huntsman now. You're supposed to protect the weak, not terrorise them. If you can't understand that, then it'd be better if you left."

"Look, Yang. It's a nice sentiment that Hunters have, and if I thought it stood the remotest chance of being viable, I'd be adhering to it like you wouldn't believe. As it stands, I'm dealing with people who have no rules. While I could take the moral high ground and not sink to their level, you can't take the moral high ground against a foe that already believes themselves unshakeably correct."

"And the Grimm aren't exactly like that? We have morals for a reason, Laz. They're what keep us human."

Ladislaus looked at Yang's face again, watching all the subtle changes in expression. "Well done on your attempt to be deep. My turn. You had a family member who was a Hunter. They're what put you on this course. You believe every word about Hunters because of them. However, you romanticised the job in the process. You've only just realised that being a Hunter means being the only light which rages against the dark. You can't believe that, so you're using me as a strawman to convince yourself. How right am I?"

Yang's expression soured. "You're partly right. My mom was a Huntress, and so was my step-mom. Both of them went missing, my mom when I was really young, and my step-mom when Ruby was two. I became a Huntress to find them. I believe every line they feed us about how Hunters 'protect the weak and innocent' because they did." Ladislaus noticed Yang's eyes start to mist. "I'm not romanticising anything about it. It's going to be messy, it's going to be painful, and I will endure it to find mine and Ruby's moms. I was always aware that Hunters are the most effective, and costly, line of defense against the Grimm, and that I'm probably going to live the rest of my life having never found who I'm searching for. But the fact that I will have saved hundreds from doing what I am, that's what makes it worthwhile."

"I never asked why you did it. I made a claim that you weren't entirely aware of the cost. It's certainly more thought-out than my reason. But I get your point. He who fights monsters must take care to ensure he does not in turn become a monster." He paused, considering the revelation. "Thanks. You heading back to Beacon?"

"Need a lift?"

"Well, it'd be awfully suspicious to be wandering around Vale after dark with blood-stained armour."

Yang chuckled at the thought as she mounted her motorcycle. "Yeah. The cops would really see red. Hop on."

Ladislaus moved to join her, pausing as he processed what she just said. "Hey, I said you can hop on."

"Yeah, I know, Yang. Just… that pun was bad. Please never do that again."

"I shall remain unre-pun-tant!"

"Oh God. You're not going to be like this the whole way back, are you?"

Yang smiled cheekily, all the pensiveness of the past conversation forgotten. "I don't know. You want to risk walking?"

Ladislaus sighed, climbing onto Yang's motorcycle. "Dammit."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

This chapter marks the first encounter Ladislaus will have with the Silentium (The Silence). There will be more in future. There's a lot of dialogue in this one, all of it serving basically as a plot dump to flesh out characters. This style is what I'll be using for whenever I need to do a lot of exposition in a reasonably short piece.

Also, the 'punching a guy for 8 minutes after he died' thing isn't going to be making a return, but I've mentioned it just enough that I can't retcon it from existence.

- Zip


	11. Baptismis et Doctrina (The Aftermath)

When Ladislaus walked back into his team's dorm room, he found that Catrin was the only one still awake. "Didn't have as much business as you thought, then?"

"Something like that. I figured you would have gone to sleep. Can't muster it?"

"Laz, I can't exactly just switch off like you can. Seeing somebody who I'd only seen as an idiot who'd almost gotten himself killed personally disposing of a man in armour and a man who looked to be almost five times your age, and, dare I say, _enjoying_ it, isn't exactly a sight I can go to bed with."

Ladislaus responded as he removed pieces of armour. "Yeah. I guess that having a philosophy like what I do can deaden the perception. I beat that guy like I did because he messed with my family, and I wasn't about to hold back. Like I said, I wanted to send a message. Hey, can you give me a hand with the cuirass? Blood's worked its way into the hinges."

Catrin stood and walked over to help. "Being alone here gave me time to think, though. If the Silentium really are like what you said, then I guess your worldview works." The hinges creaked as the cuirass opened. "Just as long as that's what you keep it for, I don't have a problem with it."

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at Catrin's request. "You seemed to miss one part of what I said. 'Anyone who hurts me or those I care about deserve no mercy'. You, Marcel and Roxane all fall under that umbrella. You have my word on this: If anyone seeks to harm any of you, they will have to contend with me. You saw me against Pyrrha. I told you how much of a battle it was for me to not outright go for a kill. If I can take Pyrrha, I can, and will, take anyone who thinks that they can use you to get to me."

"You know how meaningless that phrase you keep using is? 'You have my word'? Nobody uses it anymore. I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you this, but somebody's word is only as good as the paper it's printed on. And I don't see any paper."

"Cat, the Cerulans haven't changed much over the centuries. They come from a time when somebody's word meant something. So when I say 'you have my word', don't take it with the meaninglessness that it's since taken on. My word is my bond, and I've lost too much in the past few hours to lose that too. Anyway, I'm not sure if you're going to go to sleep tonight, but I am. Thanks for the introspection."

Catrin nodded, returning to her bed and picking up a book. "No problem, Laz. Word of warning, though, I am not letting you leave Beacon without one of us with you. This isn't negotiable. I don't want you tearing some poor, misplaced soul apart while you're out."

"Duly noted. G'night, Cat."

"Good night, Ladislaus."

* * *

><p>When Ladislaus woke up, he found Roxane fawning over his cuirass, while Marcel and Catrin had presumably gone to get breakfast. "Rox, put that back. I've got to clean it."<p>

Roxane turned to Ladislaus, while still looking over his cuirass. "Oh, hey Laz. What _happened_ down there? I mean, it was all clean and stuff when you left, but you come back unannounced in the middle of the night, two days early and with your armour covered in blood. There has to be a story there."

"There is a story, and if you want to hear it, then put my gear down. Sound fair?"

Roxane nodded, placing his cuirass on his bed. "Now, story?"

"Me and Catrin killed a group of people that wanted to kill me. That's the short version."

"Long version?"

"I guess you've eaten?"

"Yep. It's why I'm here while Cat and Marc are still out."

"Good. The long version isn't exactly appetising." Propping himself up in bed, Ladislaus recounted the events of the previous night in as much detail as he felt appropriate.

When he finished his retelling, he was mildly disconcerted by the awestruck look on Roxane's face. "Uh, Roxane? That wasn't supposed to be an epic tale. That was me telling you that, by associating with me, you're no longer safe in Vale."

"I know. But you beat a guy to death with your _hands_. There is no story in which that isn't awesome."

"Seriously, Rox. You're looking at this in entirely the wrong light. The fact I beat a guy to death isn't 'awesome'. The fact I beat a guy to death is damn scary. I mean, I punched his _corpse_ for eight straight minutes, just because leaving him when he died didn't feel right."

Roxane shrugged, while still looking at him as though she'd found her idol. "I can't think of anyone I've met who beat somebody to death for hunting them. You're kind of a first for me."

Ladislaus slumped over and sighed, realising that he wasn't going to get anywhere trying to persuade Roxane that her idea of 'awesome' is what he would consider 'morbid'. "Yeah, well he's not going to be the last guy, I can just about guarantee it. The Silence do not stop. Either the entire Order dies, or I do. That's the only way this ends."

Roxane shrugged, producing her SMGs. "Works for me. Where do we start?"

"We're not going out and destroying an entire Order in a weekend. That's both impractical and constitutes capital offenses in every Kingdom. Seriously. The Cerulans are _everywhere_. Just not under the same name. Pass me the bleach."

Roxane put her SMGs away, leaning over to pick up the bottle of bleach from Ladislaus's footlocker. "Well, how about we start with Vale?"

"What? The one chapter that doesn't want my head on a stick? You really are crazy, aren't you?"

"I've been told. Want me to open a window? I've heard bleach isn't exactly the best thing to be in an enclosed space with."

"Yes, thanks. Now, let's get this blood off…"

* * *

><p>Marcel staggered backwards as he opened the door, head swimming from the fumes that escaped. "What the hell is that?"<p>

"Rox, can you refill this bucket? It's not exactly suitable for cleaning anymore." Looking up at Marcel and Catrin, both having brought their arms up over their face to avoid inhaling any more, he chuckled. "Morning all. I won't be much longer, as I've got the majority of my kit cleaned up. Then it'll be a while to let the place air out, unless one of you has a fan."

Catrin raised an eyebrow at the ease with which Ladislaus was sitting amid the fumes. "How are you alive? I mean, if it's bad out here, I don't even want to think about how it must have been in there."

"I'm sitting on the windowsill for a reason, Cat. One, I don't think carpet handles water too well, and two, the room is as bad as you said, and I like my air."

"You couldn't have used a bathroom?"

"That would just make it worse. Sure, there's no carpet, but it's also smaller with no windows, or, at least, I couldn't see any when I was in there last. It's a tradeoff, really. Do I want to live, or do I want to clean my armour without ruining the carpet? I chose living."

"Laz, Beacon's got a ton of open-air spaces for you to clean in. Why the _hell_ did you think our dorm would be good?"

"Tell me, how many places have you walked through with blood-stained anything, Marc? Questions get asked. Hell, I think the only reason I dodged so many last night was that it was dark, and I was still visibly pissed off."

"Laz, it doesn't matter how many questions you get asked, what matters is that the people you live with can still use their room."

Ladislaus paused from his cleaning, pondering the statement. "Yeah, you've got a point there." Looking at the pieces of armour he had spread around, he guessed at how much time it'd take to finish. "Can you two go and entertain yourselves for about twenty minutes then? The air should be clear by then."

Catrin glanced at Marcel, nodding in agreement. "Alright Laz. Twenty minutes."

"Thank you for your understanding. Can you close the door behind you? I'd hate to smoke out the whole floor."

Marcel nodded, closing the door. "Thank God we don't have to be around that any longer. Were you getting dizzy, Cat?"

Catrin lowered her arm from over her mouth. "A little. Did you and Roxane find out anything on that language?"

"Not really. You got back just as me and Rox were preparing to go look. You never did give me a straight answer as to why you came back after an hour, though."

Catrin turned, walking towards the elevator. "That's because it wasn't something I wanted to dwell on. If you want to know, though, I'll tell you now."

Marcel followed keenly, eager to hear what drove Catrin back. "I'd love to. So, did you get your part of the job done, or did something come up?"

Catrin cast her mind back to the events of the previous night as she walked. "I caught up to Ladislaus as he boarded the Bullhead for Vale, making up some story about needing to top up our Dust supplies. He offered his church's Dust reserves, which were… extensive, to say nothing else, and I accepted, thinking that it offered me the best chance to figure it out. He led me through Vale to this church, and we found that it was not as empty as he expected. Apparently, Ladislaus had done some things that didn't quite appeal to the higher-ups in his Order, and they were there to find him. He walked in, and after about a minute, I heard weapons being drawn. I went in the side entrance, as they'd blocked the main one that Ladislaus went in through, and found him being attacked by two guys in armour like his, while a third guy, who looked really old, watched. I took on one of the guys attacking Ladislaus, while he handled the other. After a couple of minutes, we'd worked it down to us and the old guy. That was when I noticed something was up with Ladislaus. He seemed _really _pissed off. He put his sword away as he walked towards the guy, grabbed him, and told me to go and fill up from the Dust in the attic. All I heard as I walked away was Ladislaus saying things, the old guy laughing, and Ladislaus punching him."

"When I came back down ten minutes later, Ladislaus was holding the guy up, still punching him, and only dropped him when I got close. He turned as he asked me if I'd gotten all I needed, and that was when I noticed his armour in the state you saw it, covered in blood and such. I nodded, and he walked past me, leaving this old guy crumpled in a bloody heap where he was standing earlier. Ladislaus later told me he died two minutes after I left, which meant he was punching a dead body for eight minutes straight. That's why I came back. I couldn't continue to walk around with a person who could desecrate a body for eight minutes, based solely around the fact that said body had threatened them and their parents."

Marcel shrugged as he pressed the elevator button. "I can see where he's coming from. I already told you I'm from outside the walls. Out there, family's all you have. I did do some looking around online after we first met Laz, trying to find out about this Order he's part of, and they've been outside the walls pretty much ever since they were founded. To put this in perspective for you, imagine your extended family not agreeing with what you do and deciding the only way to fix it is to kill you. That's what happened for him. He was punching because the people he thought loved him had turned on him. He had no idea what to do."

Catrin raised an eyebrow at her normally lackadaisical teammate's sudden seriousness. "Look at that. You're not making light of what happened. And here I thought you were so one-dimensional, Marc."

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Cat. You should have stuck with him. Odds are he needed somebody to help him out afterwards."

The rest of the elevator ride was spent in uncomfortable silence, only broken when the elevator chimed at the ground floor. "You're right. I shouldn't have left. But he didn't seem like it'd gotten to him too much when he got back. Maybe he found somebody else."

"Cat, that's not the point. Unless he visited somebody he'd basically known his whole life, who'd know how weird the church is, then it's still on him. You ever hear of people who died of sadness? Who went to sleep and never got back up?" Catrin nodded. "He might have the slow-burn version of that. His church just turned their backs on him in the most ultimate manner they could. I don't think him cleaning his armour is just so it'll be bloodless. It's so that he doesn't have to remember. He's cleaning himself. If the Order's got any funerary rites, he's probably running through them in his head. What I'm trying to say is… he needs everyone he can get. We've already seen him almost get killed, and that was during practice. Put him out in the world, with something he doesn't believe he can fight, he might do some real damage, but he won't live to see how bad it was."

* * *

><p>Roxane walked back into the room to find Ladislaus sitting, polishing his armour. "Sorry, Rox. Turns out I didn't need an extra bucket. Just put it down somewhere, I'll pour it out later. If you're still keen on helping, grab a rag and a piece of armour, and I'll show you how to polish it."<p>

Roxane shook her head as she walked to her bed. "No thanks. You've had me doing the grunt-work for your cleaning, so I'll pass on doing more for your polishing. There's some things about your story I'd like to hear in detail, though."

Ladislaus looked up from his work. "Oh? And that is…"

"This 'Silentium'. You said they're your Order's equivalent of the police. If they are, why'd they try and kill you?"

Ladislaus looked down at his armour, thinking of how he could explain it. "The Order's centuries old, Rox. As old as the Kingdoms themselves, maybe a little older. The Silentium came about back when people thought you could live with the Grimm, and intentionally drew them to villages. The Silentium would be sent out, and they would do whatever they needed to in order to get them to realise the Grimm weren't looking to coexist. The absolute last resort they were authorised for was what they became known for. If they couldn't bring you around, then they'd kill you."

Roxane sat, riveted by the explanation. "What happened to them when the Kingdoms rose?"

"That was when they became more mysterious. Seeing as Grimm were less of a threat after people started to band together in the Kingdoms, the Silentium's role in the order shifted. Where previously they had their eyes turned outwards in the name of prevention, now they turned their eyes inwards, looking to root out those having doubts in the Order's ranks. This was when they became truly terrifying. With people, you can persuade them to stop by exposing their family to the Grimm, and having them watch the Grimm's reaction. Cerulans, by design, wouldn't crumble to mind games. They were trained to expect to lose everything, to Grimm or worse, and use it to fuel their fight. So, when it came to dealing with the unfaithful, the Silentium were forced to get creative. They knew that you could kill a Cerulan's family and they wouldn't blink. You could kill their friends, and they would keep going. So they killed _everyone_. Friends, family, brothers and sisters within the Order, nobody was safe. If they couldn't get a reaction for that, then they'd go directly for you. The Silentium were never ones for direct action. They'd always try and force you to repent, to admit your errors and submit to them. So, the Silentium gained a reputation among everyone. The Grimm were no longer the most terrifying thing on Remnant. Heaven help you if Silence happened to fall on your name."

"Why would they kill other Cerulans, if they were looking to root out the unfaithful ones? It just seems counter-intuitive, because wouldn't that drive them away?"

"That's how it should work, isn't it? Reasonable people would try and run as far as possible. But the Order's not. Like I said, the Silentium play mind games. Shock and awe are their weapons. After all, who's going to doubt the Order when doing so means everyone you know could die? Why leave, when doing so might kill everyone you could live with? The Silentium have no morals as you or I know them. As long as their mission gets accomplished, as long as their target re-joins the faith, then anything they do is worth it. After all, their motto is 'Exitus Acta Probat'. The ends justify the means. That's why I'm uneasy knowing they're after me. They will burn Remnant to ashes if they think they can catch me in the flames. By knowing me, you guys are targets. By my being here, Beacon's a target. Hell, I already know my family's pretty much dead. They aren't going to stop for anyone in their pursuit of me."

"Then we kill them first. They can't do anything if they're dead."

"Ordinarily, that'd be a brilliant idea, Rox. Only thing is, the Silentium aren't local. There's chapters everywhere. Unless you're willing to go to every single Kingdom and hunt down each and every Cerulan that lives, then this'll remain a defensive fight." Ladislaus noticed Roxane start to grin at the concept of going around Remnant, killing people who wanted to hurt them. "Don't. Don't even try and say 'why not'. We'd never make it out of Atlas if we did. Vacuo and Mistral, maybe. Vale's not exactly fond of having what they think is a cult, admittedly a benevolent one, within their walls, so as long as Vale's people don't get hurt, then they don't have an issue. Of course, it's still murder. So we'd be contending with Vale's police. Simply put, Rox, it's more trouble to go after the Silentium than it is for the Silentium to come after me. But let's not talk about them any more than we need to. Did you have any other questions?"

Roxane processed what Ladislaus had been saying before she replied. "A couple. What's that language you use? You know, the one you were singing in yesterday?"

Ladislaus chuckled, racking his brain for the name. "You know, I don't think they ever named it. It was a language that the Order used to communicate without being eavesdropped on. For the sake of simplicity, let's just call it 'Lingua Ordo'. That's 'the language of the order'. Anything else?"

"What was the song?"

"Are the rest of your questions going to be about what I said at some point?" Roxane shook her head. "Good. What I was singing yesterday was an old song I got taught. According to my parents, and the historians that used to live in the church as well, it was sung by members of the Order when they went out to hunt Grimm. It was for protection. The Order was realistic, though. They knew the song wouldn't do anything to stop claws, but it made for a morale boost. Nothing like singing to the heavens about how you serve an ethereal, dubiously-existent higher power to let people know they're in good hands."

"Huh. Wouldn't that make them less confident? You know, not being able to meet this 'higher power'?"

"It's not about meeting this higher power that matters. It's knowing that there's more than just those near you watching. Those you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with are just as human as you are, and just twice as flighty. A higher power, Cerulus, in their case, who has been both demonstrated and lauded as being a fearless warrior is one hell of a calming element. After all, if Cerulus could stand against the Grimm with fewer than you have with you, then the least you can do is honour his name and memory by doing the same. Also, the Silentium would hunt you to the ends of the world, but that's not so terrifying when crude mockeries of nature wait in forests mere feet from where you're standing."

"You know, a lot of what you've said about the Silentium seems to be that they're scarier than the Grimm. If they're trying to be the good guys, then why would they do that?"

Ladislaus looked up from the piece he was polishing, meeting Roxane's eyes with an intensity she was unused to. "That's your last question, Rox. No more after this." Returning to his polishing, he continued. "You're right. The Silentium do want to be scarier than the Grimm. If they're scarier than the Grimm, then the men you send to fight the Grimm will obey, if for no other reason than disobedience is that much worse. If they desert, find them, expose them, exterminate them. Give them no choice but to stay."

"That's a dark way of looking at people."

"It might have been, but it worked. Not a single Cerulan has fled in the face of the Grimm in the Order's history. As a result, though, fear is the only language that the Silentium speaks. If I want to get them to stop pursuing me, I have to be the most terrifying thing they've seen. That's why I beat a man to a pulp, and mangled another to the point of unrecognizability. I can understand if you aren't on board with that, though. Catrin isn't, and she's probably already told you her plan to keep me safe and on the moral high ground."

"You're not to leave Beacon without one of us with you."

Ladislaus grinned at the words. "That's the one. It's not going to happen. It just means that they'll take whoever's with me and use them, same as they tried to use my parents last night. I tried to tell her last night, but she wasn't quite listening. Maybe if she hears it from you, it'll be that much more believable. Tell her this: If _anyone _tries to harm her, you or Marc, there will be no place they can hide that I will not find them. That is my pledge, given with my words. My words are my bond, and without that I am worthless."

"You want me to tell her all of that?"

"From 'if anyone tries to harm' to 'without that I am worthless', yes. Just switch out the pronouns. You know, 'I' becomes 'he', 'my' becomes 'his', and so forth. She should be in the library if you want to tell her now." Picking up another piece of armour, Ladislaus waited for Roxane to leave.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Rox. You've used up any opportunity to question me by continuing to ask about the Silentium. On account of you not having a lot else to do here, I'm telling you to tell Catrin what I told you. Now get going. I'd like some time for myself."

Roxane leaned back, taken aback by the sudden hostility Ladislaus was expressing. "I said 'go', Rox." Realising that all her presence was going to do was anger Ladislaus, she grabbed her coat and left for the library.

As the door shut, Ladislaus sighed contentedly. "So, recap: This past week, I've been accepted into Beacon, stabbed by Mistral's most competent gladiatrix, praised for not being immediately taken out by above, beaten by the gladiatrix's boyfriend, been dragged through a window into an all-girls dorm as part of an elaborate prank, found out my church has all but put out a hit on me, and just about everyone I knew on the underbelly thinks I died or have been imprisoned after the burglary that got me into Beacon." He grimaced as he realised how much of the past week did not go in his favour. "Not bad for a week's work." He resumed his polishing, speaking as he did so. "Domine Cerulus, mea hostibus multi. Illi surgo contra mea nomine; mea anima. Dicunt ego est ultra liberandum. Domine, custodia me amicorum. Custodia me schola. Facere non contego mea, nolo in auxilio tuo."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

Yet another dialogue-heavy chapter. I just want to get as many pieces of exposition out of the way as I can. Again, Ladislaus explains his philosophy to another person, and he explains how the Cerulan Order works. And he uses Latin again, which I gave a different name for the sake of canon-friendliness.

The Latin used at the end is: "Lord Cerulus, my enemies are many. They rise against my name; my existence. They think me beyond redemption. Lord, watch over my friends. Watch over my school. Do not watch over me, for I do not want your help."

Next chapter: Reading up on the Order, and Ozpin finds out what happened.

- Zip


	12. Explicatio (The Resolution)

Roxane walked among the library's aisles, trying to find Catrin and Marcel, having been dismissed from Ladislaus's presence. She found them working at the library's computers, searching for anything that might be relevant to their current situation. "Hey guys. Laz sent me away, so I figured I may as well see what you're doing."

Catrin turned from her computer to acknowledge Roxane's arrival. "Hey Roxane. I can't say I'm surprised he's sending people away. He was like that last night as well. Did he give you the same spiel he gave me, about how he's doing it for us, and should anything happen to us, nothing will stop him in his pursuit of those responsible?"

"That's the one. He told me to tell you, thought you might believe it if somebody else said it."

Catrin laughed quietly. "Yeah? He's going to have to try a bit harder than that. I'm going to assume that he told you more than just what he told you to say, though."

"Gave me a bit of background on this group that's after him. They're called the Silentium, and they are _incredibly_ old. Like, 'older than Vale' old. They got their start rooting out people who thought they could live with the Grimm peacefully, and either getting them to realise the Grimm were anything but friendly or killing them. When Vale and Atlas and all the rest came to be, they started to hunt down those who didn't want to be a part of the Order, and offered them the same choice. Laz falls into the second category. Also, I found out what that language is. It doesn't have a name, but he called it 'Lingua Ordo'. Said it meant 'language of the Order'. So, while I've been talking to him, I take it you two have been busy?"

Catrin shifted sideways to allow Roxane to see her screen more clearly. "We've done some reading. For an Order that's older than the Kingdoms, there's not exactly a lot of books on them. And there's only rumours and hearsay outside of those books. In any case," Catrin pulled up a document on the computer, "here's what we've got."

* * *

><p>Ladislaus's scroll pinged as he put away the polish and rag he was using. Opening it revealed a message from Professor Ozpin. "See me when you can. Send a message if you can't today." Ladislaus finished putting his tools away, before putting on his cuirass and making his way to Ozpin's office.<p>

A few minutes later, he was knocking on Ozpin's door, wondering how much of last night found its way to his desk. "Come in, Ladislaus." He raised an eyebrow at how Ozpin knew it was him without even looking, but put aside the question for a better time. Walking in, he saw Ozpin standing, staring pensively out the window in his office. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

"Yes. I take it you keep yourself appraised of events in Vale, particularly those regarding your church. Am I correct?"

Ladislaus straightened his posture, aware of what the conversation would be focused on. "Yes, Professor. I take it something has happened that has drawn your interest as well?"

Ozpin ignored the question, continuing with his address. "Seeing as you keep yourself informed of such events, then I shouldn't have to tell you about Vale's police finding three dead bodies in the church of the Cerulan Order. The same church that, unless my memory is failing me, you hail from. Before I continue, do you have anything you'd like to say?"

Ladislaus had rehearsed a response on the way there, and exercised it. "Professor, irrespective of whatever testimony is offered, I was acting in self-defence. The men drew their weapons first, and made to attack me. I know of one student who can correlate my statement, on account of her presence there. That student is Catrin Sabelline. While she cannot attest to the reason why I was assaulted, she can attest to the fact that I did not initiate the conflict."

Ozpin turned, aware of the slightly robotic note in Ladislaus's voice. "How long were you practicing that? I'm not looking to assign blame here, Ladislaus. I'm looking to the safety of my students. What little I've heard about this incident tells me that the three who were found dead were not mere thugs, looking for an easy raid. They came looking for somebody. The only question I'm interested in at the moment, Ladislaus, is why they attacked _you_."

"Sir, with respect, that is a long story, longer than you or I have lived. I'll do my best to summarise it, but you'll want to do some reading yourself if you want a better understanding." Ozpin gestured for Ladislaus to continue anyway.

Ladislaus took a breath, conjuring up all his knowledge of the Cerulan Order's history. "The organisation that attacked me last night was called the Silentium. They were the Cerulan Order's secret police, dedicated to maintaining the stability of the Order's mission and numbers by any means necessary. They came after me for enrolling at Beacon." Looking at Professor Ozpin, Ladislaus found that the man looked no more interested in this news than if he'd mentioned the morning's weather.

"The reason why my enrolment at Beacon is such an affront to the Order is the side-effect of a centuries-old grudge the Silentium holds against the Hunters. Three centuries ago, as I'm sure you're aware, Grimm populations declined. Not greatly, but enough to take the strain off. The Cerulans, as they always had been, were still fanatically devoted to wiping out Grimm all over Remnant. They'd since branched out to other Kingdoms, in search of Grimm to slay. This decline did not fit well with them, oddly enough, because their recruits had to go further afield to get training in. So they brought Grimm to their headquarters."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the concept of an anti-Grimm faction deciding to bring Grimm closer to themselves, but motioned for Ladislaus to continue. "Now, back then the Cerulan headquarters was about half a mile outside Vale."

"The Hunters, your predecessors, were notified of the Order's new habit by nearby villages, many of whom were concerned, quite understandably, that the Grimm might escape. So one night, after one recovery team had brought in the night's haul, the Hunters struck. They overwhelmed the guards, and swept through the fortress, slaying Cerulan and Grimm alike. This attack reduced the Order's numbers, or, at least, the Vale chapter's numbers, by about two-thirds. The Silentium took offense at this attack, and began to set plans in motion to bring down the Hunters for it. The first step was to deprive the Hunters of any Cerulans as assistance, or as recruits. Then they waited. Weeks, months, years, decades, they waited, expecting that, as with all organisations, they would weaken.

"Then, eighty years ago, at the behest of the Council of Vale, the Order disbanded the Silentium. This only angered the Silentium further, as they fled to the other Kingdoms. So now, here I am, a Cerulan initiate in their eyes, willingly flouting the rules of the Order. And they shall not abide that. Of course, the only ways they deal with dissent is either re-indoctrination or death. If they can't get me to come back to the faith, then they'll ensure that I don't live long enough to break from it any more than I have."

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee as Ladislaus finished his explanation. "This puts me in an uncomfortable situation, Ladislaus. If you're being set upon by a shadowy organisation who wants you dead, then you're a hazard to have here. Do you understand why?"

"Absolutely. The Silentium have no care for collateral damage, and will exploit every relationship I have in the interests of getting me to surrender. This puts the other students here at risk, because they may be taken for use against me, and, as headmaster, you cannot afford to endanger your students' lives unnecessarily. Which is also why I'll add some insight into how the Silentium works. They aren't going to be a blade in the darkness. If they come for me here, they will trumpet it from the rooftops. They want me to be afraid, because then I'll let emotion cloud my judgement. You will have _plenty _of warning. What you do with that warning is up to you. All I shall say is that when silence falls on Beacon, I will be the loudest person."

Ozpin cast a glance down to a screen in his desk, before pressing a button. "Glynda, do you have a moment? Ladislaus has made some… interesting claims that I think you should hear." Turning his gaze back to Ladislaus, he gave a simple instruction. "When Glynda gets here, tell her exactly what you told me."

* * *

><p>Catrin scrolled back to the top of the page she'd started on the Order. "While the books are predictably silent on the Silentium, there's several books that detail different religious orders, with most of them mentioning the Cerulans by name. They don't agree on a whole lot about the Order's origins, but they all match up with what Ladislaus has said. They don't say that the Order predates Vale, but they do say that the Cerulans were one of the first counter-Grimm organisations. Three centuries ago, the Hunters attacked them, believing that the Cerulans were bringing Grimm closer to the villages to promote business, or some other such silliness. This, understandably, pissed off the Cerulans, but they never acted on that. However, there was an increase in casualties in Hunter patrols, with many claiming to have been attacked by men in armour, who would appear, strike down a member of the patrol, and vanish into the surroundings before they could respond. Here, I found one statement from about sixteen years ago. Have a read."<p>

Roxane raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out who would have been responsible. "Wait, sixteen years? Laz said the Silentium were the only ones that held that grudge, and they were driven out eighty years ago."

Catrin shrugged. "Just because groups get shut down doesn't mean everyone dies. You going to read the statement, or should I keep going?"

"What? No, I'll read it. Just trying to wrap my head around the finer points of what I've heard." Roxane motioned for Catrin to move a little more, so that she could read the paragraph without having to move too much.

_My team had just started to check the woods outside Vale, on account of hearing reports from the watch of Grimm gathering nearby. The first section of the patrol went simply enough. We'd stumbled upon a pack of Beowolves and a few Ursai, nothing to be overly concerned about, and we'd cleared the section we were assigned to after dealing with those Grimm. It was as we were walking back that something seemed… amiss. I guess, in hindsight, we should've gone with the same Bullhead extraction that everyone else had, but we figured we should give the guards some ribbing over their idea of 'Grimm massing'. _

_When we'd walked out to find the Grimm, we could hear birds and other non-Grimm animals. When we walked back, it was quiet. Like somebody had turned off the background noise. It wasn't until somebody pointed it out that everyone noticed just how strange it was. We stopped, thinking that it was a sign of more Grimm, when we saw three people approach us. At first, we just thought that it was some village's militia, come out to ask us what we were doing. That's when Thérésa noticed something was wrong with them. They didn't carry themselves like militia. They were far more confident, more co-ordinated. Louis walked over to them, shouting as he went, trying to figure out who they were. _

_They completely ignored him and his questions, and just kept walking. At this point, we drew our weapons. It was obvious that these guys weren't all they seemed. What happened next made me think they were waiting for that. The moment our weapons came out, they leapt into action. Everything went dark for a second, and when it cleared, they'd vanished. We fanned out, trying to figure out where they went, when I heard Bertrand start shouting. Something had pretty much cut his arm off at the shoulder. I told Thérésa and Louis to grab Bertrand, and we ran. As we ran, though, we could see that they were still following us, maybe twelve feet behind, at the same walk that they approached us with, but still keeping pace. They didn't leave us alone until we got within range of the city walls. When we asked the guards if they saw anyone else out there, they said they didn't see anyone other than us. I swear, they were right next to us up until they could have been shot at._

_Stephen Grell, Team Bastille_

Roxane blinked a little, shifting in her seat. "Seems like a bad horror story. Mysterious men approach a group, badly injure one, and follow the others to within sight of a third party before vanishing entirely with the third group claiming to have never seen them? I know Laz said the Silentium liked shock and awe, but they just seem like a fairytale. 'Don't stop for anyone, or the Silentium will get you' or something."

"I think that was the point, Roxane. If they were disbanded eighty years ago, then they know they can't take the Hunters in a fair fight. So they'll even the playing field through scare tactics. If you come off as far larger and deadlier than you actually are, then you have an advantage that can be manipulated. Don't you pay attention in Port's classes? It was the first non-story thing he said to us."

Roxane gave Catrin a concerned look. "You pay attention to Port? Half of everything he says comes with the phrase 'Of course, when I was in the field'. I didn't come to Beacon to hear some fat guy talk about how badass he was in the past, I wanted to learn the most efficient way to fight Grimm. But now's not the time for this discussion. Hey, Marc, you find anything?"

Marcel blinked, shaking his head at the mention of his name. "What? Did I find anything? Not more than what Cat did. Still, found some fascinating tidbits on the Order's origins, with story and everything, and a footnote about the Silentium as well."

* * *

><p>"So, Mister Feher, you expect me to believe that, solely on your wish to attend Beacon, you have drawn not only the attention, but the <em>ire<em> of a sect within your church whose only desire is to see you dead? If that is your alibi for killing three people, you will have to try much harder to convince the police."

Ladislaus stiffened at this dismissal of his claims. "Respectfully, Professor Goodwitch, this isn't the kind of problem that will simply go away if I close my eyes and say 'this isn't real'. Believe me, if it was that simple, I would have done it the moment I knew. Beacon and all associated with it presently are at risk because of my choices. The students, the staff, everyone. Do I have any doubts that the Silentium will move to use them against me? A few. They don't want to be obvious until their masterstroke."

"If they want to be discreet, then why would they announce that they are coming for you?"

"Paranoia. If they can get me jumping at shadows, then they're halfway to winning. They just have to be in the one shadow I don't react to."

Glynda paused, considering the situation, granting Ozpin time to voice his thoughts. "You aren't the first student to have been outed with… unsavoury ties. However, you might be the first to have been the direct target. If this was an ordinary school, I likely would have dismissed you, claiming you to be too great a risk to my students to keep around. However, this is an esteemed academy, whose alumni go on to fight the one product of nature who look to destroy humanity. In light of that, I'm going to keep you enrolled at Beacon." Glynda regarded Ozpin with a sceptical eye as he made this declaration. "But know this, Ladislaus. If you wilfully endanger my students in an attempt to strike back against this 'Silentium', then you will have made the greatest mistake of your life." Ozpin's voice took on a much colder note as he said this, all cordiality stripped from it.

Ladislaus shifted his stance, attempting to mask his reaction. "Noted, sir. Is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?"

"Nothing that springs to mind. Glynda, do you have anything you'd like to quiz Ladislaus on?"

Glynda looked at Ladislaus, before shaking her head. "No. But, if you would prefer, Mister Feher, I will arrange for additional training sessions for you. While you may have dispatched three men in armour, some extra practice could not hurt your case."

Ladislaus nodded his assent at the offer. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll gladly take those lessons. Will I need to bring a sparring partner, or will one be provided?"

"That will be arranged closer to the time. Ensure you have somebody in mind by tomorrow."

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at the time she specified. "Tomorrow?" He retracted the question when he saw no reaction from Professor Goodwitch. "Yes ma'am." He waited in the room a few moments more, running through the possible candidates in his head. "If that's everything, may I take my leave?"

Ozpin nodded, watching as Ladislaus left. "Glynda, what are you planning with him?"

Glynda looked at Ozpin in disbelief. "Planning?"

"Beacon's had students in similar situations to his. Weiss Schnee's a risk in and of herself, given the White Fang's opposition to her family, even if they haven't made a move yet. Others before her, no longer attending. Why help him?"

"I'm not planning anything with him, Ozpin. If he's correct, then he'll have to contend with far worse than Miss Schnee will. The White Fang are a terrorist group, reduced to near-impotence after that attack. This 'Cerulan Order' I've never had the opportunity to encounter, but they likely have one thing the White Fang don't. They have conviction. The White Fang want change. They want a better life for Faunus, and I can't blame them. The problem with religions is that they are convinced that whatever they do in pursuit of their goal is right. They are 'the ends justify the means' taken to an extreme. If they want him dead, then one way or another, they will have him die. I'm just doing what is necessary to keep him alive in the face of such odds."

Ozpin sipped from his coffee, listening to Glynda's justification. "You're right. But haven't the White Fang become a cult of their own in recent months? I'm sure you've heard what happened in Mountain Glenn from Bartholomew and Team RWBY. Certainly it takes more than just a wish to live outside the law to make your home in the middle of Vale's first failed expansion. It would require an almost-religious conviction."

Glynda adjusted her glasses, seeing what Ozpin was getting at. "Look, Ozpin, if you want me to tutor Weiss as well then I will. It's simply a case of mitigation. If other students hear about some of them getting special treatment, especially so close to the tournament, it's not going to go down well."

Ozpin smiled, shaking his head. "No, Glynda. I'm not suggesting you tutor Weiss as well. I just want you to keep in mind that this school, by its nature, attracts people with powerful enemies. Don't try and pick one to save because their odds are worse. Every one of them has some disadvantage. In any case," his face became more solemn as he finished, "the Grimm get them all eventually."

Glynda nodded quietly and left. She'd known Ozpin long enough to know the people he was talking about.

* * *

><p>"Marc, giving us a summary doesn't exactly give us a lot. Can I take a look, at least?"<p>

Marcel leaned back in his chair, waving Roxane over. "Sure thing. Top bit is a not-exactly-accurate story about how the Order came to be. Looks like it was written by somebody inside the Order, based on the hero-worship. I've tried to cut out as much 'Our Grand Leader' and the like as I could without breaking the flow. Sad, sad story, in any case. After that, it's the origin of the Silentium. Looks like it was for those who were, weird as this may sound, _too _militant for the Order's rank-and-file. Then, to close off, we have a recounting of the Hunter raid, from the perspective of a survivor. Order's side. Hunters didn't really put pen to paper about what went down, and if they did, it's far enough out of public reach that Beacon can't get its hands on it."

He scrolled back to the top of the page, before moving to let Roxane read.

_Brothers, read this and know the tale of Cerulus, our founder and first leader._

_Long ago, before the Hunters were existent, the villages and groups that dotted Vytal's landscape had to rely on their own forces for protection, and merchants and travellers would hire mercenaries if they wished to travel through the vast, dense forests unassailed by Grimm. Our leader, knowing the impurity of virtue that many of these mercenaries possessed, instead invested in teaching himself and his wife, our Martyr Ilia, in the art of swordsmanship. Through this knowledge and education, Cerulus became known for both his apparent foolishness and the wealth of his estate. However, as with all things, good fortunes eventually come to an end._

_Cerulus and his wife were preparing to depart for Vale, carriage laden no longer with goods, but with coin, and had decided to spend the night in the village inn, to leave in the morning. There, they heard tales of the surrounding forest, and how it was filled with monsters. Living shadows that, should you stop on the path, would emerge out from the trees and snatch you and all you own back into the darkness. There were few telling these stories and many in the inn, so Cerulus and Ilia, as would many reasonable people, disregarded these claims as being the machinations of active, overly-liquored minds._

_Come next morning, our leader and our martyr set off for Vale. Their travel passed largely uneventfully, until they decided to stop for food in an idyllic area of the forest. Remember, brothers, the wisdom of the outcasts in local matters. As Cerulus fetched the foods from their cart, the 'shadows' that the inn-dwellers mentioned watched keenly, waiting for an opportunity. When Cerulus was laden with food, they struck, knowing that their only resistance was preoccupied. They lunged past Cerulus, knocking him against his cart and scattering his supplies. When his senses returned, he saw his wife valiantly struggling against the shadows, which had taken the shapes of great wolves, before being defeated and dragged into the woods. He scrambled to his feet and charged into the forest, desperate to save his love, but her screams had long since ceased, leaving him only with a scrap of her clothing which had been torn in the struggle. It was from this scrap that we draw our colours, brothers._

_Cerulus arrived in Vale seven days later, weary and haggard. He had abandoned his cart where his wife died, as a reminder to all who passed that road. He spoke only long enough to pass the business to his son, our second leader Tyrus. After he completed that, he retreated inside, away from the world that had so cruelly snatched his love from him while he lay helpless. Six months he persisted in his seclusion, before he was visited by a messenger from above. This messenger took the form of our Martyr, his love Ilia, and bade Cerulus go forth, out into the world. He was to rally a great army and, with the strength this army would afford him, bathe the world in light, that the shadows that took her would never be able to do the same to others._

_Inspired by this divine visitation, Cerulus cast off the embrace of his hermitage, travelling out in search of men to populate this army. His first, and most eager, converts were the same outcasts whose advice he had so foolishly derided in his earlier years. With this army, he struck out into the wilds, cleansing vast areas of woodland for expansion and later, for his army's own staging ground, our grand Fort Penumber. Upon Fort Penumber's completion, the Order, in its current form, truly manifested. His lieutenants, in the face of his declining, insisted that Cerulus lend his name to the Order, stating that if he would not take the name in life, then he would have the name thrust upon him in death. Knowing that to decline in the face of such an ultimatum would be more insulting to his men than anything else he could do, he accepted, and the Cerulan Order came to be._

Roxane's face became increasingly contorted with disbelief as she read. "So, Ladislaus's Order was based around some grief-crazed merchant's hallucination that told him to go and kill _every Grimm in Remnant_?"

Marcel shrugged. "I don't know. Seems like it. It depends on how accurate this story is. If I was to strip out all the divine intervention from it, I reckon it'd play out closer to 'merchant loses wife to Grimm, mourns for six months, then gets incredibly angry and rallies a mob'. Of course, those kinds of stories don't normally end with 'and then he was charismatic enough to get the mob to follow him to the ends of Remnant'. So, it could be real."

Catrin snorted at the affirmation that it 'could be real'. "Seriously, Marc? I thought you were better than that."

"Hey. I'm from outside. I've told you this before. You guys, behind your mighty walls, don't see as much of a focus for the same things those outside do. We focus on family because nobody else is going to, and they die if we don't. Similarly, spirituality is a thing out there, when we're not trying to head off Grimm. Always helps to think you've got something bigger on your side, even if it doesn't actually intervene."

Roxane nodded, understanding of the benefits. "Confident people tend to fight better."

"Sort of thing. And Grimm tend to compound on bad events. Poor harvest? Grimm inbound. Death of an elder? Grimm inbound. Grimm attack? More friggin' Grimm. So thinking that there's something from the heavens on your side can help there."

"I'll say. By the way, Marc, was that whole 'bad things get worse' spiel real, or is it all just things you've heard?"

The three turned, surprised by Ladislaus's noiseless, invisible entrance into the library, and the conversation. "Hey Laz. I can guarantee that everything except Grimm attack attracting more Grimm has happened to my village. We almost always cleared out for about a week after Grimm attacks. Thinking about it, I guess that means it has happened before. Is the dorm aired out yet?"

"Dorm's been aired out for a while now. I stopped by there in case you guys had left the library. I take it that you've been busy, though. I can tell Catrin has from here, and you've just copied and pasted the Genesis chapter from the abridged Book of Cerulus, if I heard that correctly. Please don't tell me you've just been hunting around for transcriptions."

Marcel shifted in his seat. "I'd love to say I haven't, Laz, but it's far easier to crib from your Order's books and just strip out all the overt hero-worship. Primarily because just about every place I've looked for about the origins of the Cerulan Order has been dripping with conspiracy theories. Did you know that some people think the Cerulans have been controlling, at the very least, the Council of Vale for over a century? And others think that the Cerulans _created_ the Grimm?"

The first claim elicited a faint chuckle from Ladislaus, while the second sent him into a fit of laughter, which was rapidly quieted when he remembered where he was. He continued in a whisper. "Seriously? There's people who think that the Cerulans created the Grimm?" Marcel nodded. "You've got to be kidding. That would be an _insane_ plan. 'Let's create a race of self-sustaining, constantly evolving monsters dedicated to wiping out humanity so we can look like heroes' is some pretty stupid logic, no matter how you approach it. Do you have any more?"

Catrin cut in before the two could continue to mock conspiracy theories they'd found. "Come on, you two. The conspiracy theories are entertaining to read and all, I'm sure, but I think Marcel was about to show Roxane a passage on the founding of the Silentium?"

Marcel switched back to the document he'd been keeping his findings in. "Oh yeah. 'Passage' kinda understates the length, though. Laz, if you can shed any light on what it says, go ahead."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

This chapter was the first in which I tried to express concurrent events in the same chapter. Let me know if it was difficult to follow, and I'll do what I can to clear that up. Glynda's offer to give Laz extra tutoring is basically an in-story excuse for me to play 'Who would win?' with Laz and the characters of RWBY (obvious exceptions being Roman, Cinder, White Fang members, etc).

Next Chapter: The Silentium's founding and a brief timeline.


	13. Petente Auxilio (The Request)

The Silentium – The Secret Hand of the Cerulan Order

The Silentium is the Cerulan Order's most secretive and exclusive branch, with some outside the Order disputing its very existence. Records kept by the Order that were released to the public do make mention of such a group, but only as far as a census, which seemed to consistently keep membership of the branch at approximately one hundred members.

However, one member who had broken away from the shadowy group agreed to an interview, and told me about their history. I have reproduced everything he said below.

_About fifteen years after Cerulus took his last long walk into the woods and passed leadership on to his son, a lot of people left. Cerulus had been the only reason why a lot of them were still there, because he'd taken care of most of the Grimm infestations around their villages. Anyway, the Order's membership fell to about two hundred from close to three thousand in this one year alone. Seeing as Cerulus was in his sixties, it was pretty clear that he wasn't making a comeback if he didn't return within the decade._

_Because of this reduced manpower, Tyrus had a difficult task ahead. How could he protect the same amount of people with a fraction of the men his father commanded? The answer took him a while to get to, but it was an effective one. He took to asking the villages what caused a lot of their Grimm attacks. Most of them could chalk it up to one family or another that seemed to be trying to live peacefully with the Grimm, and brought them to the village to show how harmless they are._

_So, with this in mind, Tyrus got to thinking. 'How can I stop these idiots from bringing Grimm to the villages without having to devote my entire force to make sure they stop?' After a while, he had the idea of three-man teams, made up of the particularly dedicated. We were called Silencers, because our job was to silence those who claimed we could co-exist with Grimm. Suddenly, his army of two hundred became a ridiculously efficient force, as he only needed three people to go to a village that reported strange behaviour and root out the offenders. Of course, back then there was no Book of Retribution, so the response was left to the most senior individual. Some magnanimous types would try and talk them around, while those who were either jaded or psychotically loyal would go straight for the execution._

_We soon became more feared than the Grimm among townsfolk, because we wouldn't ask questions and wouldn't take no for an answer. If you got called out as a Grimm supporter, then we would show up at your doorstep, and you had best pray for one of the kind ones. Otherwise, we would kill you and everyone that lived with you. Was this sort of hunting a bad idea? Sure, but we didn't discriminate. Human, Faunus, local, foreign; all were equally capable of trying to co-exist with Grimm._

_Inexplicably, though, this terrifying effectiveness also brought new recruits in. People who were eager to see Grimm and Grimm supporters dealt to. They were run by Tyrus, who had joint leadership of both the Order's main force and the Silentium, and he had the final say on which section they were put in._

_This setup continued merrily enough, with everyone being happy that Grimm weren't coming, while the Order was getting back to the good part: going out into the wild and facing Grimm on their own turf._

_Of course, that was when, a few centuries, and about twenty leaders later, the Hunters came and threw a spanner in the works. As it turns out, the Order had been doing their job too well, and needed to bring Grimm back to Penumber to train the fresh recruits. The Hunters saw this Grimm trafficking, and assumed that the Order was plotting something. So, one night, they made their move. Overran the fort, killed just about everyone who put up a solid fight, killed all the Grimm, and slew the Imperator. While the Order proper was in disarray, trying to figure out how the line of inheritance worked, we plotted. The Hunters had struck a blow against the Order and, in doing so, allied themselves with the Grimm. As a result, they had to be silenced._

_Now, I get it. 'But the Hunters have centuries of Grimm fighting on their side as well'. But the Hunters were never as demanding as the Order. The Hunters were content to simply push the Grimm back as the Kingdoms expanded. The Order wanted all Grimm gone. This might seem like semantics, but it's like night and day for the Silentium. We kept plotting, waiting for the Hunters to become weakened enough by the reduced Order presence for our standard three-man cells to mop up. Of course, that didn't happen. They got stronger. _

_In the interim, the Silentium got repurposed. We were no longer meant to slow the incidence of attacks alone. Now we also served as a test of faith for the Order itself. If one of the rank-and-file decided that the current work ethos wasn't quite for him after his induction, it was our job to ensure he never left. Either by getting him to submit to reindoctrination or by killing him._

_The terror of being forced to obey didn't stem the flow of new recruits, but evidently the shift induced by that raid worked against the Silentium, because thirty years ago, the Order disbanded us. Decided the time had come and gone for unexpected visits in the middle of the night, and that enforcement of the Order's ideals were unnecessary, seeing as the Council of Vale had declared the Cerulan Order as 'acting against the state' on the merits of their name alone, which sounded a bit too much like 'Cerulean' for their tastes. The Order made a counter-offer: if we get rid of the Silentium, then you don't move against us._

_Of course, the Council was fully aware of the Silentium, if not their reach. Seeing their opportunity to retain a largely-beneficial group and get rid of the shadier elements of same group, they accepted. Stupid goddamn move. We ran to other Kingdoms where we were already set up. We continued to operate in Vale. We threatened the Councillors who agreed. We killed a few. Set ourselves up rather nicely. To any Hunters that read this: we're still waiting. You'll falter, and silence will fall._

* * *

><p>"Well, the guy got most of the history right. I haven't a clue about the finer points, but I do know that whoever he interviewed that claimed to be a former member is lying through their teeth. There are no former Silencers. They wouldn't be used to combat heretical beliefs if they ever had doubts enough to leave themselves. And if he was, and slipped away during the purge, he knows better than to reveal the secrets of the Order. In any case, the guy's probably dead, based on the time references he used, and I can tell you it wasn't natural causes."<p>

Catrin raised an eyebrow, already starting to plan. "Oh? The Silentium are _that_ self-disciplining?"

"Shadow organisation that is almost as old as the group that hosts it, whose entire role was prevention, first of Grimm attacks, then of dissent? It'd be weird if they weren't that self-disciplining."

"So, if we could implicate that the men they send after us are helping…"

Ladislaus looked at Catrin tiredly, already knowing what she was thinking of doing. "Cat. They sent two teams. One to execute, one to observe. Unless you're willing to go hunting for two different teams, one of which always has orders to go to ground if the first is eliminated, and knock them all out, then we're not going to be persuading the Silentium that we've got their men to work with us. Anyone else have a potential plan, or was Cat the only one?"

Marcel and Roxane both shook their heads, neither of them really having put much thought into planning, instead more fascinated by the tales of swords and sorcery that they were reading. "Nobody else has a plan? Huh. I figured at least Roxane would have something, even if that something was 'let's just kill them'."

Roxane glared at Ladislaus, unimpressed by his joking suggestion that she restate her idea from their conversation in the dorm that morning. "I said that last time, and you shot it down quite fast, as I recall."

Laz grinned, entertained by Roxane's displeasure. "I did, but it doesn't mean you can't repeat it so I can shoot it down again for the benefit of those who weren't here when you last aired such a belief."

"You could always just say why we can't kill them all. My suggestion was because I thought that this group was operating alone, and only in Vale." Shifting her address to the two members of the team who weren't present for the morning's discussion, she continued. "As it turns out, trying to eradicate the Silentium before they eliminate us would require an epic travel, going across just about every Kingdom, in addition to leaving a sea of corpses. Laz is too much of a homebody to venture outside Vale, so he's going to let them come to him."

Laz smiled sarcastically at this character assassination that Roxane was performing, before issuing his retort. "Not quite, Roxane. Unless you, Marc or Catrin happens to have diplomatic immunity or some heavy underworld connections, we're not even going to clear Vacuo without warrants. The Silentium will be looking for the lethal reaction, and the authorities will come down on us like a ton of bricks. _That_ is why we can't kill the entire organisation, numerical and experiential differences aside, not that I'm 'too much of a homebody' to leave Vale. Where the hell did you even get that idea?"

"Does it matter? It pissed you off."

Ladislaus rolled his eyes at the simplistic reason. "Yeah, I guess it did. Anyway, dorm's aired out, and I'm guessing you'd rather not stick around in a library any longer."

His team made noises of agreement, with Marcel giving voice to the general sentiment. "It's about time that happened. I would have been pissed if I had to bunk down elsewhere."

"I can understand. Knowing you, I'd be surprised if anyone would say yes. Though I suppose Rox could put you in a tree."

"You guys tied me down."

"Only because you didn't respect privacy, Marc. Anyway, I'm going to check out Beacon's gym. Cat, I trust you can manage these two?"

"They're not kids, Ladislaus. They can manage themselves."

"I know that, Cat. Fact remains, you and I are as close to a voice of reason as they get at times."

"They didn't try and deathmatch the most experienced fighter in our year on their first day. I'd say they're more reasonable than you are."

"Don't give her too much credit, Cat. Pyrrha's skilled, but I doubt she's the most _experienced_. Anyway, see you guys back at the dorm. If you need me, I'll be in the gym." With that, Ladislaus turned and walked off, leaving the three to travel back to the dorm.

* * *

><p>After many minutes of stumbling around Beacon's campus, hunting for the gym, Ladislaus wandered into the correct building, or so his scroll said. He initially doubted the device, on account of the few people using the facility, but the presence of a weights room and duelling circle proved him incorrect.<p>

He walked over to the locker bank and collected his weapon and armour pieces. _I'll never know how they shift all my things around so quickly, will I? _While his armour, in its full state, was rather cumbersome, he felt it better to train for all things in it. In any case, it wouldn't hinder his workout terribly much.

Turning to look at the gym's current patronage, he performed a quick head count. _Two in the duelling ring. One, no, two in the weights room. One in… I guess that's agility or something, with the ropes and pillars. And… that's everyone. Let's make a friend._ He walked over to the agility room, trying to make sense of the arrangement of the obstacles. Finding himself unable to do so, he decided to ask how the room worked from the person midway through the course.

"Hey, can you show a rookie how this works?"

The girl turned on her perch to face him, before pointing to a small pillar near the doorway. "Start there. Climb to the next highest one until you reach the pillar in the corner. From there, get across the room without falling. I'll point out the order for you."

Ladislaus followed her directions, scaling the pillars with some difficulty, a fact that his guide rapidly picked up on. "You might want to get rid of the plate if you want to do this well."

"Consider it a weight belt."

"You don't exactly look like the acrobat type, so I'm not sure why you'd give yourself a handicap like that. Next pillar's ahead to your right."

Ladislaus jumped, steadying himself before responding. "I'm not likely to be engaging in these kinds of tricks without my combat gear. This plate armour is my combat gear. Therefore, I am doing realistic training." His guide directed him to the next pillar.

"Whatever works for you. It might not be a very good idea -" Her response was interrupted as Ladislaus lost his footing on the pillar he'd landed on, sending him to the floor. She descended from her own pillar effortlessly, landing next to him within seconds. "I said that was a bad idea. Are you alright?"

Ladislaus sat up, shaking his head to clear his vision. "Yeah, I'm fine. Or, at least, I feel fine. Care to help me give it another run?"

She didn't respond, instead being more interested in ensuring Ladislaus was unhurt. "Answer a few questions first. What's your name?"

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at the randomness of the question. "Ladislaus Feher. Why?"

"Concussion test. Where are you?"

Ladislaus responded promptly, his only question answered. "Beacon Academy."

"Good. What is your team?"

"Team Limerick. Led by me, with the other members being Catrin Sabelline, Roxane Mallor and Marcel Maristen."

She nodded, her concerns that Ladislaus had seriously injured himself put to rest. "Good. You don't seem to have a concussion, but I don't exactly have much to test with. I'll watch you attempt the run again, but, if you fall off, I'm taking you to the infirmary to get properly checked."

Ladislaus nodded, extending a hand to be helped to his feet. "Sounds fair. Give us a lift?"

She pulled Ladislaus to his feet, before directing him back to the start of the course. "Thanks. Who are you, by the way? I think I've seen you before, but I can't place you."

"Blake." The girl responded curtly. "I don't really see why it matters."

Ladislaus searched his memory for girls named 'Blake', only returning one result. "Blake from Team RWBY?"

She sighed, evidently bored of this line of conversation. "Yes. I remember you, as well. You were the guy that appropriated Ruby's semblance. And then you were the guy that woke up outside our room."

Ladislaus winced at the memories. "Yep, that's me. Thanks again for getting me out of your room, by the way. It didn't look like Yang was going to stop anytime soon."

Blake shrugged, before leaping back to the pillar she was guiding Ladislaus from. "She's a lot like her sister. Likes to be dramatic sometimes. Consider it her way of saying 'hi'."

Ladislaus nodded, trying to follow Blake's movements as closely as he could. "Hell of a way to introduce yourself."

Blake began to point out pillars for Ladislaus to jump to as she spoke. "Normally her introductions aren't conducted in her bedroom, to random visitors."

Ladislaus nodded, his attention having shifted to the task of jumping from pillar to pillar. When he caught up to Blake, he took advantage of the respite to make a request. "Hey Blake. If I make it to the end of the course, will you tell me something?"

Blake's eyes narrowed at the request. "What would this 'something' be?"

Ladislaus pointed to her bow. "What's under that? I've noticed it moving since we first met, but I figured that was just the way the light fell. Now that I get a look at it properly, it's not the light."

Blake responded sharply, attempting to shut down the conversation before it could continue. "You must have hit your head worse than I thought. There's nothing under the bow."

Ladislaus smiled at the defensiveness. "If there's nothing underneath, then I take it you agree to my challenge?"

Blake paused, weighing the risks. "Very well. I agree to your challenge. If you complete the course, I'll take the bow off. Let's see if you can deliver." She leapt from pillar to pillar, crossing the room with remarkable ease.

Ladislaus grinned at the challenge being accepted, and the display of skill that Blake exhibited, before following in her path, jumping from one pillar to the next, steadily catching up to her. "Might want to loosen that bow off, Blake. I'm almost done."

Blake shifted her footing, readying to jump back to the previous pillar. As Ladislaus began to jump to the pillar, she mimicked his jump, stopping only at the last second to release an image of herself and leap back to the pillar she jumped from. Ladislaus, surprised by this sudden change, instinctively pulled back, nearly missing the pillar. As he looked up at the top from his position clutching the side, he saw that where he had previously seen Blake was empty. "What… Blake, what the hell was that?"

Blake regarded him impassively, only saying to him "You haven't finished yet. You have two more pillars."

Ladislaus dragged himself to the top of the pillar, bracing himself for another experience like the last. Blake, meanwhile, crossed the final two pillars with all the ease of a pleasant stroll. Ladislaus adjusted his footing to better suit jumping from the pillar, while Blake turned to watch his progress.

She maintained her impassive demeanour as he drew closer to the end platform, breaking from her observation only to make room for his landing. As Ladislaus rose to his feet, he smiled. "Looks like I've earned a look behind the bow, don't you think?"

Blake frowned, bringing a hand up to undo it. "Not a word to anyone else about what you see. Only a handful of people know, and I'd like the group to remain that small." With that, Blake untied the bow, revealing a pair of cat ears on top of her head. Ladislaus, who had been confused by the seriousness that Blake had shown about so mundane an act, nodded quietly, fully aware of why she wanted him to keep quiet. "Faunus, huh? That explains why you looked like you could run this in your sleep." Blake continued to regard him like he'd captured her, before he remembered what she said as she revealed her secret. "I'm not going to be weird about it. If you'd rather keep it under wraps, I can understand. I won't tell a soul, on that you have my word."

Blake retied the bow, wary of Ladislaus's claim that she 'had his word'. "Right..." She climbed down from the platform, with Ladislaus following behind. "Hey, Blake… I heard whispers around campus that your team is probably the most experienced first-years here. On account of a, um, 'development' in my schooling, Goodwitch has me doing extra lessons, and told me to consider some duelling partners by tomorrow. I'm sure you can guess the question."

Without breaking step, Blake responded. "I'll ask them. Stop by my team's room later. And tell Sun that he shouldn't be talking about what happened in town."

"Right." Perplexed by the last part of the statement, he continued back to the lockers. _Duelling circle's still occupied, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything._ Passing his scroll over the scanner, he put the extra armour away, while retrieving the book he'd found with his weapon. _Romphaea turned into a spear in the forest, and nowhere else. Let's see if this sheds any light on the matter._

He left the gym, making his way to somewhere relatively secluded so he could test what he read in peace.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

This marks the midpoint for most of the exposition that's been going on since Chapter 11. Two more chapters until the end of this first collection.

Next chapter: That book that was found with Laz's weapon gets some explanation, and its origins are revealed.

- Zip


	14. Virtus et Armis (The Weapon)

Ladislaus set himself up outside Beacon's main statue, in the shade of one of the trees. Removing Romphaea Scorpio from the hook at his side, he looked it over. "Let's see, what makes you tick?"

He inspected the weapon carefully, looking for any seams in the metal that could suggest it came apart. When he found none, he put it aside, and looked for a disassembly diagram in the book it came with. Opening the cover, he found the familiar text from when he first opened it in the attic. "'This weapon was designed for the exclusive use of... somebody, and must dedicate its use to the sole function of eradicating Grimm.' Splendid sentiment, if a little archaic." Flicking through the pages, he found a diagram that seemed to show the weapon's internal structure. Casting a glance to Romphaea, he quickly looked back at the diagram. "That can't be right."

He picked up Romphaea, tossing it in the air and catching it. "No. It's far too light." If the diagram he was looking at was correct, the weapon appeared to contain a miniaturised manufacturing plant, capable of generating any weapon that the user was familiar with that fit the base frame. One other aspect of the drawing that caught his eye was a picture of the sun shining on the gem that served as its trigger. "In that which darkness fears, I aid in staying their advance." Activating the weapon where he sat, he watched it unfold into its sword configuration. "Okay, so you're a sword." Deactivating it, he shifted it out into the sun, where he pressed the button again. This brought about a different change, the same one he'd last seen in the Emerald Forest, where it transformed into a ranseur. "Huh. So _that's_ why you changed. Sword in the dark, ranseur in the light. Handy."

On account of the fact that it hadn't shifted between the two in the forest, Ladislaus assumed that whichever form it took, it maintained until it was put away. "So… if you can change, can you be rendered unchangeable?" He ventured back into the book, looking for any passage that may inform him on whether or not he could force one form to stay. His searching went unrewarded, as the book, while it went into detail about how and why his weapon changed, failed to mention any potential way to lock the transformation. "Makes sense, I guess. Why would you restrict something whose advantage lies in its flexibility?" However, his reading did provide a clue as to who or what forged the weapon and wrote the book, in the form of the Atlesian emblem filling the final page. "So, the Atlesian chapter did all this. That explains a lot, like the tech inside it. Looks like I've got calls to make."

Ladislaus packed away Romphaea, looking towards the CCT tower. He glanced back to the dorms, wondering if he should call in one of his teammates for company. _Nah. The Silentium should know better than to try and raid the CCT to get me. It's on Beacon's campus, after all._

* * *

><p>Ladislaus walked in the lobby of the tower, surprised by how empty the building seemed. <em>I wonder why there aren't more people here. If memory serves, this is just about the only way to communicate between Kingdoms, and, with the Festival, I was expecting some of the non-Beacon students would be spending at least some off-time here.<em> He decided to ignore his concerns as he made his way to the elevator in the back. Stepping in, he was startled by the voice emanating from the control panel. "Hello, welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?"

His mind searched for a response as he regained his composure. "Uh… I'd like to go to the communications room. Please."

The voice ignored Ladislaus's unease, replying in the same near-monotonous tone it greeted him with. "Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

Ladislaus held his scroll in front of the panel, waiting as the device was authenticated. "Perfect. Thank you, Mister Feher." He put his scroll away as the elevator began to climb. As it rose, he planned out how he would converse with whoever picked up in Atlas, if they picked up at all. _I shouldn't need to use the language unless it's for verification purposes. But all the verification in the world won't help if they hang up because I've been marked. Here's hoping whoever picks up isn't terribly fond of the Silentium._ His reverie was only broken when the elevator doors opened, showing him a room lined with computers. He stepped out of the elevator, making his way towards the main desk. He blinked as a woman manifested in the chair behind the desk. _Trust Atlas to pull something like that._ He walked closer, and the hologram looked up. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?"

Ladislaus paused, hoping that the Cerulans in Atlas hadn't changed their name overmuch since they left Vale. "I'd like to make a call to the Cerulan Order in Atlas."

"Absolutely." The hologram looked down, typing into the computer in front of it. As the wait continued, Ladislaus began to suspect that the Atlesian Cerulans had changed their name, and that he'd need to figure out what it had changed to. He was about to leave when the hologram looked back up. "If you'll head over to terminal 12, I'll patch you through."

Ladislaus nodded, thanking the hologram as he looked around for any hint of a numbering system. The hologram appeared to notice his confusion, illuminating the terminal's screen, and directing him to it. He thanked the hologram again, and made his way towards the terminal. He had just enough time to produce the book when the screen switched on, revealing a rather Spartan room, incredibly tidy and well-organised. His analysis was soon interrupted by a large, bearded man sitting down in front of the screen. "Orden der Brüder vom Atleschen Kapitel der General Cerulus in Mantle. Was willst du?"

Ladislaus hesitated, unfamiliar with the language he was being addressed with. _Terrific. Here's hoping they remember this._ Inhaling, he began the introduction he thought up. "Salve frater, ego sum membrum Ordo Cerulus in Vale. Nostin hac lingua, aut saltem loquar lingua communis?"

The man blinked, his brow furrowing as he contemplated what Ladislaus said, before bursting into laughter. "They still teach you that in Vale? My God, no wonder they're behind the times. So, brother, I am Komtur Johannes Zweckhaft, and I will answer whatever questions you may have within reason."

Ladislaus sighed with relief, thankful he could converse in the language he was familiar with. "Yeah, we didn't really expand much after your chapter and the rest left. But that's not what I'm here for. Apparently, if this book I found is correct," he moved out of the screen to show the book he found with his weapon, "your chapter forged a weapon, I'm not sure who for, that found its way to Vale, to the local Cerulan chapter. Could you possibly shine some light on it?"

"That would depend on what language the book is in? Is it in the tongue you speak, or is it in the one I do?"

"The one I spoke. If it helps," Ladislaus unhooked Romphaea, bringing it in front of the screen, "this is the weapon I'm talking about."

Johannes's eyes went wide with shock. "Mein Gott. And you found that in Vale? That was intended for the leader of my chapter, about a century ago. How the hell did it get there?"

Ladislaus shrugged, before placing Romphaea on the table. "Your guess is as good as mine. What can you tell me about it?"

Johannes looked away, rummaging through a stack of papers, if his actions indicated anything. "Wo ist es… komm schonn, du stück mist, wo bist du… Ah, here." He looked back at the screen. "Here's everything I've got handy on that. Would you like me to read it, or would you like it transferred?"

Ladislaus got out his scroll, connecting it to the computer. "Can I get both? I doubt that everything you've got handy is everything you know, so at least that way I get something more than I came in for."

Johannes nodded, placing the document on a scanner. "Alright. Let's start with what I know of the thing, then, while the computer reads. The weapon you're using was an experiment forged a century ago that my chapter's then-leader, Konrad Masov, was supposed to test. Due to unexplained circumstances, it never made it to him. It contained an experimental Dust-powered minifacturing plant that was supposed to be able to generate whatever weapon Konrad desired. It was left in a debug state prior to its departure, which restricted the forms it took to a sword and spear arrangement, while its ranged form had no such restrictions, on account of a differing system. Its ranged form would take cues, on activation, from the nearest weapons available. On account of its testing in the chapter's old armory, that was a crossbow. I presume, seeing as you've been using it, that it has changed since then?"

"Sort of. Its 'ranged form' went from a crossbow to an old rifle. I'm going to guess it can go further?"

"Most certainly, if my chapter did its future-proofing correctly. I presume the debug state still exists on the melee, though."

"Yeah, that seems right. It's a sword in the dark, and a spear in sunlight."

Johannes smiled proudly. "So they _did_ get the photoreceptors working. I thought that was a bit far for them back then, to be honest. Anyway, that's all the technical I think you're interested in. Isn't it?"

Ladislaus shook his head. "Not quite. You mentioned that this thing was in a 'debug state'. Is there any way to break that state?"

Johannes raised an eyebrow. "You mean activate the weapon? I wish I knew. If it had gotten to Konrad, it might have. But, in the interests of production security, things like that were not permitted to be put to paper, and died with the brothers that built it. However, one thing that was allowed to be written down was how to lock the states. Do you think that'll be of use?"

Ladislaus beamed, his goal found. "Yes, actually. It's precisely what I was looking for. I wanted this locked into its spear arrangement."

"You wanted a multi-function weapon locked into its long-range melee arrangement? Are you insane?"

"Not as far as I know. Some people might disagree. I want it so that the melee arrangement is a spear, while the ranged form remains unmolested. Is that possible?"

Johannes shrugged. "Sure, I guess. You got sunlight nearby?"

Ladislaus looked to the windows around the room. "Yeah, just give me a sec." He stood up, walking to some unoccupied terminals. Holding Romphaea up to the light, he pressed the gem that triggered it. Watching as it unfolded into a ranseur, he walked back to the terminal, drawing peculiar glances from those in the room. "Alright, it's switched on. What now?"

Johannes referred to a sheet of paper for the rest of his instructions. "Now, there should be an indent beneath the trigger. When you find it, push it in, and a cube should pop out of the other side."

Ladislaus checked where Johannes claimed the indent would be, and found a section that had a slightly different texture to the surrounding area. "Found it." He pushed the indent in, and was rewarded with a light thud as a cube fell into his lap. "Alright, what next?"

"The cube should have six letters, one on each side. Can you tell me which ones are there?"

Ladislaus turned the cube around in his fingers as he checked the letters. "There's a 'd', an 'i', an 's', an 'a', a 'z', and an 'r'."

Johannes nodded as Ladislaus read off the letters. "Alright, you are going to want to put the side with the 's' facing inwards. Do _not_ put the 'z' side in. That would not end well."

Ladislaus did as he was ordered, placing the 's' in. A few mechanical whirrs emanated from within the weapon as it processed the change. Ladislaus inspected the weapon, trying to discern what the cube changed. Johannes's voice brought his attention back to the screen. "Did you place the cube in as I told you?"

"Yeah. Want me to give it a shot?"

"Yes. Please cycle through all modes of Licht Rache to ensure that the cube performed as intended."

Ladislaus cycled through the holstered, melee and ranged forms, ensuring that it all still functioned, with the appropriate modifications. He allowed a brief smile to escape at the discovery that the cube disabled the sword. "Yep, we're good. Is that document sent over?"

Johannes looked to the scanner. "Just about. Why, you being charged by the minute for this?"

"You know, I have no idea. A couple more things, though. What did you call my weapon, and is it possible to get more?"

Johannes became slightly more cautious at the question of more. "Your weapon is called 'Licht Rache'. It means 'Light's Revenge'. The story behind that is… not one I'd like to have to tell." Ladislaus nodded sagely. "Everyone has their skeletons. And the other question?"

Johannes leaned back. "That's not for me to say. I could forward you up the chain, if you want to pursue this further. Be warned, though. They're just as likely to demand Rache back as they are to say yes. Would you like me to send you to the Kapitelmeister?"

Ladislaus contemplated the consequences of going further. Taking a breath, he told Johannes to send him up. "Alright. With any luck, the fact that you're the first Vale Cerulan to contact us since the War will get you somewhere. Auf wiedersehen, brüder."

* * *

><p>Johannes vanished from the screen, replaced with the symbol of the Cerulan Order. Ladislaus's scroll beeped as the transfer finished. He retrieved his scroll as the terminal spoke. "You are attempting to contact Kapitelmeister Aloisa Brinkerhoff. State your name, affiliation, and intent."<p>

Ladislaus frowned at the impersonality, before responding. "I am Ladislaus Feher, a brother in the Cerulan Order of Vale, and I wish to contact Kapitelmeister Brinkerhoff regarding a matter of acquisition."

The image of the Cerulan Order's symbol faded as he finished, replaced with a woman's stern countenance. She scowled as she spoke to him. "So, brother Ladislaus, what is this 'matter of acquisition' you wish to discuss?"

"I was sent here by a subordinate of yours, Komtur Johannes Zweckhaft, regarding the acquisition of another Atlesian-built weapon for my own use. Would that be possible?"

She remained distant and emotionless as she listened. However, a note of interest crept into her reply. "'Another' Atlesian weapon? Might I ask what the one you currently possess is?"

Ladislaus smiled internally. _If she's interested, then I might have an in._ "The weapon I am currently in possession of is, according to Komtur Zweckhaft, 'Licht Rache'. It was supposed to go to a Konrad Masov, but ended up in Vale. I would like a second weapon for practicality purposes. Apparently, Masov led the Atlesian chapter roughly a hundred years ago, and this weapon was supposed to be an experiment -"

"Yes, yes, I know Rache's history. While a pressing question is 'what is it doing in Vale', the fact that you haven't died, and this call is coming from Beacon Academy, tells me that the weapon is functional, and the mechanisms do work. I can understand the reasoning behind your request, Ladislaus, but I cannot grant such a request on account of the fact that I was not contacted by the master of the Valish Chapter. Get their approval, and I shall see."

Aloisa moved to end the call, before Ladislaus interjected. "Wait! I don't know what setup you've got in Atlas, but I can guarantee you that Vale is not nearly as organised. I _grew up_ in Vale's chapter, and not once did I encounter one of the leaders, even in passing. If you're trying to minimise the spread of Cerulan artifacts, I can understand that. However, as I'm sure you've realised, the fact that I am holding a weapon on the other side of Remnant to where it was meant to be should tell you that whatever measures you're taking are useless."

She withdrew her hand from the terminal as Ladislaus spoke, responding with bemusement when he finished. "The Vale chapter truly is decentralised, then. A pity. Maybe they should have remained militant after the raid. While I can understand why they lay down arms, I can't understand why they didn't just assimilate into the Hunters. Perhaps if you can fill in some gaps in the knowledge, I may be able to acquiesce."

Ladislaus sighed with relief, his desperate play for time having, for the moment, worked. "Very well, ma'am. Where would you like to start?"

"Let's begin with the decentralisation. When did that occur?"

Ladislaus searched his memory for when the Princeps stopped coming. "The decentralisation started about 10 years ago. That was when the chapter's leaders stopped showing up. There was no warning about it or anything, not even to my parents. I'm not sure why they stopped, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Silentium's doing."

"The Silentium? That story they tell the disobedient?"

Ladislaus looked at Aloisa, amazed at the apparent ignorance on display. "No… I'm talking about the ancient organisation that came to be when the Cerulans lacked the manpower to effectively combat Grimm threats."

A wide grin emerged on her face as he explained. "I know who the Silentium are, Ladislaus. My chapter's status in Atlas has rendered them moot for us. I am also aware of the Vale chapter's attempt to dissolve your branch, so this decentralisation being their doing is not unbelievable. That is all you know on the decentralisation? Or do you have more to share?"

Ladislaus shook his head. "No ma'am. I've exhausted my knowledge on my chapter's leadership."

"Very well. You mentioned the Silentium. Most Cerulans, particularly those of yours and my chapters, wouldn't pay them any heed, for their own well-being. That begs the question: why are you so focused on them? They aren't a major factor in your Order, they don't tend to go after new members, so why?"

Ladislaus cast his eyes down to his hands, briefly flexing them, before looking Aloisa in the eyes. "I probably should have mentioned this before. I'm marked by the Silentium."

She leaned in closer. "You mean… to be silenced?" Ladislaus nodded. "What in God's name could a teenager like you have done to bring the Silentium down upon you?"

"It's because I have a record and I'm going to Beacon, ma'am."

He watched as Aloisa went from being deep in thought to incredulous. "What? You were marked for _becoming a Huntsman_? Mein Gott, they have gone insane." She returned to the serious tone she began the conversation with. "How do you know?"

"My parents were visited by a team last night. I stopped by while they were there, and they told me of my sins. I refused to be re-enlightened, and so I killed them in self-defence."

Aloisa shook her head disdainfully. "And here I thought that the Silentium were still fighting Grimm. What kind of psychosis possessed them to continue Tyrus's desperation tactics, we'll never know. Alright Ladislaus, you've earned that weapon. Some conditions: I expect that weapon to be returned. And that weapon shall be used to strike down Grimm and Silencers _only_. If word returns to me that this weapon was used on any other target in anger, you shall wish you had been silenced. Am I clear?"

Ladislaus straightened in his seat. "Habis verbum meum, Domina. I shall follow these requirements."

Aloisa smiled. "Sehr gut, brother Ladislaus. I have put the request in for your weapon. Expect it within the week. Guten tag." The screen darkened as she ended the call. Ladislaus collected his things and left, glowing with happiness. _Awesome. Not only have I figured out my weapon, but I've also got the Atlesian chapter on-side._ He let a laugh escape as the last part sank in. _The Silentium doesn't stand a chance._ He bore an extra spring in his step at this news all the way back to the dorms.

* * *

><p>When he walked in the door of his team's room, his elation was not missed by the others. Marcel raised an eyebrow at Ladislaus's unusual happiness, before questioning why. "So, Laz, who'd you fight that's got you so happy?"<p>

Laz was initially confused by the mention of fighting, until he remembered why he left his team in the library. "Fight? Oh, yeah. A pair was already going at it when I got there. So what I did instead was I learned a bit more about this." He pointed to the weapon at his side. "As it turns out, this thing is Atlesian-built and about a century old. Also, it's got a badass name, in keeping with the fact it's Atlesian." He triggered the weapon with a flourish, narrowly missing Catrin as it extended to its ranseur state. "It's called 'Licht Rache' in the Atlesian chapter's language. Means 'Light's Revenge'. They never told me why. I'm renaming it Lucis Vindicta. Means the same, but in my chapter's language."

Catrin looked at Ladislaus with a hint of annoyance. "Great. And it's now a spear all the time." Ladislaus nodded gleefully. "Look, Ladislaus. It's great that you've learned a ton about your weapon, but do you mind not aiming it at me next time you bring it out?"

Ladislaus's face dimmed slightly. "Yeah… I'll make sure I don't next time. It sorta slipped my mind that it wasn't a sword anymore. Sorry. But, as an added bonus, it turns out my chapter weren't the only ones to dissolve the Silentium. The Atlesians seemed to no longer see the point in having them around, so they got rid of their sect. No idea how successful they were, but their leader seemed pissed that I was targeted. So we've got them backing us, should push come to shove."

Catrin smiled sardonically. "Terrific. Everyone stay calm, the Atlesians have us covered. No need to worry about the mysterious group that's chasing Ladislaus, because we can just call on the Atlesian military to bomb them into their component atoms." She shook her head. "Come on, Ladislaus, be serious. Just because somebody on the other side of the planet said 'those Silencers are real bastards' doesn't mean they're going to work with us when our back's to the wall. And I swear to God I will punch you into next week if you say that 'it's not what's being said, it's who's saying it', because I refuse to believe that you don't recognise that as being the Silentium's tactics."

Everyone stared blankly at Catrin as she vented her frustrations, with Marcel being first to break the quiet that had befallen the room. "Wow, Cat. You seem _really _pissed. Bad history with Atlesians, or is Laz too happy for you?"

"Neither. I just don't think that Ladislaus should get too worked up over the fact that the Cerulans in Atlas have his back when they're, well, in Atlas. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice sentiment, and one we could use if worst comes to worst. Just remember, Ladislaus, the best way to have help is when your own defences are manned. That way, if they shortchange you, you're not totally screwed."

The room again descended into silence, not out of shock, but instead out of surprise. Ladislaus spoke after a few moments. "I think I'm rubbing off on you. Normally I'm the voice of reason with a couple of short sentences to explain all situations."

"I would expect as much, seeing as we tend to do most of the talking."

Roxane and Marcel both took offense at this claim. "Hey! If you two would stop being all serious with the things you talk about, then maybe me and Marc would have a bit more to contribute. As it stands, you two are so caught up in worrying about the Silentium that whenever we want to say anything, it just feels weird."

Ladislaus looked at Marcel as Roxane made her complaint, eyebrow raised as though to say 'is she right?', before nodding once as Marcel mouthed 'yes' back to him. "Fair enough. Starting tomorrow, I'll try and lay off the 'end is nigh' talk. That way, you two can have your light-heartedness and everything. Sound good?"

"Wait, Ladislaus, really? You're going to stop worrying about a threat to your _life_ because half our team doesn't like you worrying about it?"

"Cat, it's the most reasonable course of action. As I've said, the Silentium want me worrying. If these two find my worrying detrimental, and I know my worrying is detrimental, then the least I can do is put it behind me while I'm on Beacon's campus. I'm safe here, behind the Festival's boosted security."

Catrin sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Cat. I'll worry about me. You've got to have something to worry about yourself. Pretentious as this may sound, 'weep not for me, weep for yourselves'." This phrase earned him a thrown book from Roxane, with a loud 'boo' from Marcel. "That was terrible, Laz."

"I know, Marc. Forgive my flair for the dramatic, but sometimes I see a moment that warrants a particular phrase, whether it fits the mood or not, and I take it. Sure, I could have used 'worry not', but that'd detract from the sensation. It doesn't matter, though. What's said is said." He paused for a moment, remembering a direction from earlier. Marc took advantage of Ladislaus's silence to question him. "Something on your mind, man?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Just remembered I'd stop by a place. It's not in Vale, don't worry. Be right back, guys. Unless you're going to grab some food, in which case I'll see you there." He walked out the door, Blake's words from the gym echoing in his mind. _Stop by my team's room later._ He chuckled at the innocuousness of the phrase and how, despite that, it stuck in his mind like a looped record. He was still smiling about it when he reached team RWBY's door. Knocking out the same 'shave and a haircut' he did when he last stopped by the door, he waited for any signs of movement inside.

It took a while, but eventually he heard murmurs, followed by the sound of footsteps. The door opened, and he was greeted by Yang. "Yeah? Oh, hey Laz. What do you need?"

"Hey Yang. Has Blake stopped by? She agreed to mention something to you guys, and to stop by here later to get the response."

Yang looked down, for a moment, thinking, before she remembered. "Oh, the Goodwitch thing, right? Yeah, she said something about that. Sounds like fun. We're in, but only if it doesn't get in the way of the tournament. When's the first meeting?"

Ladislaus allowed himself a satisfied smile. He had his duelling partners, provided Goodwitch didn't interfere with the tournament doing so. "First meeting's tomorrow, in the arena. To be honest, I doubt she'll run it through the tournament. Security's high enough that there's no risk, and any bonus lessons will probably get mistaken for Goodwitch having a vested interest."

Yang nodded, casting a glance behind herself into the room. "Alright, that works. See you tomorrow, Laz."

"See you then." Pleased that everything today had come out in his favour, he made his way to the cafeteria.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

This is the second-to-last chapter of the first Book of this story. Book 2 will begin when Volume 3 of the show does.

Now, to the matters of the chapter. The Atlesian chapter of the Cerulans use German instead of Latin as their language because it fit with the story. While they understand Latin (all Cerulan chapters do), they have evolved their own language in an attempt to differentiate themselves from their origins. The ranks of the members there were borrowed largely from the Teutonic Order, with Komturs serving in a limited administrative capacity, hence why they're taking calls from out-of-kingdom, while the Kapitelmeister runs the chapter. The Princeps are the Valish chapter's equivalent, while they lack an analogue to Komturs.

As for Laz's weapon, the name, and the story behind it, is quite interesting, but not relevant to the story as yet. As for the pseudo-riddle in the book, the entire book, with the exception of the prologue, is written like that. Laz also chose to have Vindicta shifted to its ranseur form on account of his facing enemies in plate, which swords aren't overly effective at penetrating. Instead, he intends to use the polearm to trip them. But the change is also for meta reasons, because previously he may as well have been a shieldless Pyrrha.

Next chapter: The conclusion of Book 1.

- Zip


	15. Clementia Ex Hostes (The Encounter)

**Author's note:**

Hi readers, Zip here. I rewrote this chapter, as I didn't quite like the way it panned out. Too much disjointedness in not enough space. So I fixed it. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Ladislaus walked into the cafeteria, easily spotting his team, as they were three of about a dozen people inside. Seating himself at the table, he was greeted first by Marcel. "So, I take it you did whatever you needed to?"<p>

"Yep, and I think I should probably clue you guys in as well. This morning, after Roxane left me in the dorm, I was summoned to Ozpin's office to explain why three dead guys were in the church I came from. I explained everything, and then he called in Goodwitch, and told me to repeat everything I told him to her. So I did. Silentium, Cerulan Order, my marking, all of it. Goodwitch didn't believe me at first, which is understandable, so I tried to break it down into easier-to-understand terms. Eventually, I must have gotten through, as her mood softened."

Ladislaus's statement that Professor Goodwitch became nicer was met with expressions of disbelief. "Hey, it happened. Anyway, Goodwitch offered to give me extra Duelling lessons on account of this. Now, I'm not exactly about to decline extra combat training, especially given the circumstances, so my stopping by the gym was me testing the waters for duelling opponents. Of course, while I'm there, who should I chance upon than a member of team RWBY? Now, I'm not sure if you guys listen to the same people I do, but I can tell you with some certainty that RWBY is not a team to be trifled with. So, I made a request for her to ask her team to be duelling partners. She told me to stop by their dorm later, and so I did."

Catrin took a break from her food to fill in the gap. "And they said 'yes', I take it?"

Ladislaus chuckled. "Was it that obvious?"

"You spend a little over a minute telling us this story about how you meet up with this member of RWBY, who tells you to meet her at her team's dorm to find out if they'll be your duelling partners. That's either a story that ends with 'they said yes' or is the beginning to a really bad smut story. Seeing as you haven't really shown much of an interest in any of them, unless I'm missing something, I figured you'd go the wholesome route."

"How astute of you, Cat. You're right, though. They said yes. I figured you'd all probably want to know, in case I get called away from some class or another for the lesson. However, what with the tournament coming up, I doubt that it'll happen until after that. In any case, feel free to tag along. You never know, you might learn something."

"Laz, if your current record's anything to go by, you'll get your ass handed to you. I mean, really. You nearly died fighting Pyrrha, and you got beat by her team leader, who," Roxane smiled as she turned Ladislaus's phrase against him, "while I'm not sure if you listen to the same people I do, people have reason to believe that he is the luckiest student on campus. He's pretty much only made it through combat with Pyrrha's help, and he trounces you soundly."

"Yes, a wounded opponent, who had his aura drained with every particularly jarring movement. Seeing as that'll be fixed in a couple of days, I don't think that'll be a problem. Then I'll be back to my very-nearly-beat-Pyrrha best. And Rox, please, try to remember that if I didn't let Jaune win, he'd just be more pissed. If he won, then whatever insult I'd dealt him by continuing to interact with Pyrrha was revenged. Anyway, that's everything I've got to say. Thoughts?"

Marcel, who'd been sitting quietly, listening with amusement as Ladislaus defended his actions, spoke up. "Yeah, I'll tag along to your duels, but only because I reckon the blonde one can beat you worse than Pyrrha did. And look better doing it, too."

"Marc, complimenting her when she's not around to hear it won't win you any favours. Save your enthusiasm for when I fight her."

"Whatever, Laz. Just saying that she fights like a beast. Seriously, she's like 'Victory from Defeat' personified."

"Duly noted. Will beat her harder in the duel. Catrin, Roxane, your thoughts?"

Catrin smiled smugly, having spoken with some of RWBY while Ladislaus was indisposed after his duel with Pyrrha. "To say nothing else, Ladislaus, a couple of them respect you. But I'm just being polite when I say that. By 'respect', I mean 'they want you on the floor of that arena, begging for mercy'. I _may_ be slightly tweaking what they said to fit my own sentiments. But the fact remains that you've made yourself a target of desire with that idiocy you created on your first day. While they may not outright say it, everyone wants to take on the 'Implacable Man'. So yes, like Marcel, I'll tag along, but to see how well you do."

Ladislaus raised an eyebrow at the nickname. "The 'Implacable Man'?"

"Yes, because Pyrrha Nikos is the 'Invincible Girl'. Therefore, on account of you having her on the ropes despite being shot several times and stabbed, you appear to have garnered the nickname of 'Implacable Man' to counter hers."

"Sounds pretty awesome. I don't think I'll be able to live up to it, though."

Catrin snorted. "Of course you won't. It'll be funny to watch the lustre vanish when you get beaten, though."

Ladislaus regarded Catrin's obvious pleasure at the concept of him being attainted with apprehension. "Right… On a hopefully happier note, you keen to show up, Rox?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Sure, I'll show up to support you and whatever."

"Such enthusiasm. What, you don't want to see me get my ass kicked," he gestured to Catrin, "or see how I do against specific people?"

Roxane continued eating as she thought. "Nope. To be honest, I'm just looking at it as a welcome diversion. You know, if I don't have anything to do, or anyone to visit, then I'll show up."

"Fair enough. Anyway, now that I've got your opinions, I'm going to turn in. No way to make the time pass faster than sleeping it away."

"Not going to grab some dinner, Laz?"

"I'll just have some more breakfast, Marc. Anyway, see you guys when you get back to the dorm." Ladislaus got up from the table and left, leaving his teammates in some confusion.

"Wait, did he really come down here just to hear what we thought on this whole 'duelling' thing?"

Catrin watched as he left. "Looks like it." She looked at Roxane. "Should we tree him again?"

Roxane shook her head. "Nah. He didn't seem to take being messed with in his sleep too well."

Marcel stifled a laugh. "And when did that matter to you, Rox? You didn't seem to have a problem with doing that to anyone else, regardless of their feelings on the matter."

"Shut up, Marc. I'm not exactly raring to put him in a tree again, because he'll just be angrier, and seeing as he nearly choked out Pyrrha the last time we saw him properly angry, I'd rather not be on the receiving end."

Catrin dismissed Roxane's claim of Ladislaus being 'properly angry' when he was fighting Pyrrha. "No, the last time he was 'properly angry' was down in Vale, when he, and I'm amazed you've forgotten seeing as he told you this morning, beat a man to death with his bare hands. But enough about why we shouldn't put Ladislaus in a tree for being egotistical. Any of us got big plans for going out and enjoying what we can during the tournament?"

Catrin sighed as her question was met with negative responses. "Really? Come on, guys, everyone else has at least a semester on us, training-wise. We're not going to stand a chance. So I say we make the most of our inevitable defeat and take advantage of whatever festivities are available."

"Big words, Cat. Maybe if you spent less time on your vocabulary and more time in the gym, we might stand a chance in the tournament."

She stared daggers at Roxane for that remark, while her voice took on a similarly sharp tone. "Quiet, Roxane. Just because I like to be eloquent does not preclude me the ability to best an opponent in the ring. If you would prefer, I will gladly demonstrate with you."

Marcel was grinning widely at this exchange, relishing the thought of a catfight between the two. "Hell with the ring, how about right here?"

Both girls turned to look at him, Roxane in bemusement, Catrin in anger. "You want a go as well, Marc? There's more than enough for the both of you."

Marcel meekly looked back at his food. "No ma'am. You and Roxane can resolve your fight wherever you please."

"Didn't think you did." Catrin's voice turned to ice as she turned her attention back to Roxane. "Now, Roxane, do you still wish to fight me, or was that simply some bravado gone too far?"

Roxane edged away from Catrin, slightly scared by the unexpected shift in emotion. "I'll pass on that fight, if it's all the same to you." Quickly finishing her meal, she and Marcel fled the table.

Catrin smiled smugly as she returned to her meal. "Still got it."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ladislaus awoke, pleased to find that he was still in his room. He got up and dressed before making his way to the arena. While he was confident that Goodwitch wouldn't yet have arrived, he still thought it more sensible to wait for her there than to try and anticipate when she might be in the arena. <em>Why couldn't she just give me a time, instead of just saying 'tomorrow'?<em> However, his entry into the arena was not met with the quiet dimness he was expecting.

"Feher. Good to see you're here."

Ladislaus hesitated. The voice that greeted him was certainly not Professor Goodwitch's, unless his hearing was off. Reaching for his weapon, he began to question the voice. "Who are you? Where is Professor Goodwitch?"

The lights slowly rose, illuminating the room and revealing a trio occupying the seats on the far side of the room. "I'm sure you can already guess who we are. Your 'Goodwitch' hasn't made an appearance yet, or so it would appear. Do you have _any_ idea how easy it is to get into this academy? It's like the guards don't even want to fight."

Ladislaus cursed under his breath. "So the Silentium can come and go as they please. Perfect." His other hand went for his scroll. "I wouldn't do that if I was you, Feher."

Smiling wryly, she produced a small box. "It's a jammer. You didn't really think I'd go and let my target call for backup in the middle of Beacon Academy, did you?" Placing the jammer next to her, she gestured for her accomplices to go and lock the doors.

Ladislaus drew his hand back to his weapon, readying himself to retreat through the door behind him. The woman noticed his change in stance, producing a handgun and levelling it at him. "Really, Feher? I didn't think you were the running sort." She tilted her head playfully to the side. "Especially not from someone like me."

Ladislaus sized her up, taking in every detail before forming a response. "You expect that because I'm up against a woman in a sleek dress and her two lackeys, both of which appear to be in cheap knock-offs of Atlesian combat armour, I'm not prepared to cut my losses? I'm far from the honourable kind, Silencer."

The woman faked a look of shock at the accusing tone Ladislaus adopted. "Oh, my! I didn't think you'd actually go and call me that. How incredibly bold." She gestured to her men to move closer to Ladislaus. "I hope my men aren't too intimidating. They just want to help our little talk… progress."

Ladislaus looked at the two men approaching him, one waving a stun baton around in front of him. "They don't seem like such bad people. I never did get your name, though. The last guy I killed was kind enough to tell me where he was from, so a little bit of personality would go a long way."

The woman smirked, lowering the pistol slightly. "I suppose I could oblige you that one request before I have to dispose of you. You can call me Fenia. Now please, let my men lock that door so we can talk uninterrupted."

Ladislaus span his weapon around, changing it to its rifle form, before aiming it at Fenia. "Not quite yet. Get your guy to put the stun baton away, and then we'll see."

Fenia scowled as her control of the situation began to slip. She nodded to her henchman to put away the stun baton, while Ladislaus kept his rifle aimed at her. "Done. Can they lock the door now? I'm not going to let you make many more requests."

Ladislaus smiled as he adjusted the rifle in his arms. "Thank you for your kindness. But I'm afraid I can't let your men lock that door." Quickly switching his target from Fenia to the box beside her, he fired and leapt forwards into the seats. He stayed low in the rows, listening as his shot struck something on the far side, followed milliseconds later by Fenia yelling. Peeking his head up, he saw Fenia clutching her side, while the box he'd aimed at was in small pieces. Allowing himself a brief moment to praise his aim, he pulled out his scroll and dialled Catrin.

* * *

><p>Catrin and the rest of team LMRC had spent the morning in a state of relaxation. "And here ends our first week at Beacon Academy." Roxane said, with a hint of ceremony.<p>

"What a week it's been. Laz gets beaten to within an inch of his life, Cat discovers she can lead us in his absence, and then Laz gets a hit put out on him by his church. Why do all the interesting things happen to him?"

Marcel shrugged. "Probably because he's done some things that we haven't."

Roxane turned on her bed to better face Marcel. "What, like be in a church?"

"Sort of thing. Everyone knows that small cults are the crazy ones."

"The Cerulans span the Kingdoms. How the hell does that qualify as 'small' to you?"

"In Vale, we've only seen one Cerulan and heard of two others. That's pretty damn small to me."

Catrin, who had up until that point been engrossed in a book, finally broke from her reading to quiet them. "Look, it doesn't matter how big or small Ladislaus's church is, you two. Fact is, some sect within that church wants to kill him. While if it was anyone else, not part of our team, I wouldn't give half a damn, the fact that he's our teammate means that we're obligated to make sure he survives the next four years. God help me if we wind up with another one of you." She looked at Marcel as she said this.

"Well, excuse me for taking my chances. There's not exactly a whole lot of variety outside the walls, so consider my actions to be akin to those of a kid in a candy store. Overly eager without a whole lot of concern for the consequence because dear God, it's better than what I'm used to."

Catrin was about to craft a snarky response to Marcel's analogy when her scroll went off, emitting a melodic ringing of wind chimes. She brought the scroll up, reading the name of the caller. "Oh, dammit." Looking at Marcel and Roxane, she delivered the news. "It's Ladislaus." The two began to get their things together as she answered the call.

"What do you want?"

The resulting cacophony emanating from the device caused her to recoil from it, before resolving into a voice. "Cat? You there? I've got a situation down in the arena. Get the others, and anyone else you think needs to know."

Cat put the scroll to her shoulder as she informed Marcel and Roxane of why he called. "It's the Silentium. They're in Beacon." Returning to the call, she started questioning Ladislaus on the particulars. "How many?"

"Three, as far as I can see."

"Is Goodwitch there?"

"They wouldn't be if she was."

"What are they packing?"

"Gun, stun baton, and I have no idea about the third. Now can you get down here?"

Catrin pulled on her jacket and grabbed her weapon. "Yep, be there in five." Hanging up, she turned to Marcel and Roxane. "Three Silencers in the arena. Grab anyone you think necessary, and let's go."

The trio charged out of their room, sprinting down the hall to the elevator banks. Catrin slowed down as they passed team RWBY's dorm, contemplating bringing them in, as they were going to meet there anyway. "Nah, not their fight. Not yet."

* * *

><p>Ladislaus realised how indefensible his position was roughly a minute after he stopped talking to Catrin. Since then, he'd had the two men he'd flung himself away from trying to grab him and bring him out of the seats, with their success growing ever-closer as he continued to resist. <em>Really should've kept the sword. Can't swing a polearm worth a damn when you're on the ground.<em> One misstep later, and his leg had been captured by one of the goons, the one without the stun baton.

"I've got his leg! Come on, Elias, grab his arm or something! Fucking stun baton isn't going to do anything to him at the moment!"

Ladislaus continued to thrash, trying to make it impossible for 'Elias' to get a firm grip, when he felt a jolt of electricity run down his spine. "What the fuck, man? That hurts me as well! Or did you forget about how electricity conducts?"

"Shut up, Adrian. What matters is that I've got his arms. Now, let's get this over with, so we can get out of this school. Unless you're okay with the idea that we may have a couple-dozen cops, Hunters-in-training, and or former Hunters bearing down on us any minute now."

The two picked Ladislaus up, bringing him around the arena to where their leader waited. "Stand him up."

They shifted Ladislaus so he was in a near approximation of standing, while they held his arms. Fenia raised her pistol, bringing it up so the barrel lay just underneath his chin. "You did better than I expected, Feher. A pity we still got you anyway. You would have made a good Silencer."

Ladislaus looked up, the dots in his vision slowly disappearing. "I would? And who are you to judge?"

"I've been sent to take care of you, and not in the conventional sense. As a result, I've been watching you, and I like the way you deal with things."

"You've been watching me for all of two days. What could you have learned?"

"A lot more than just two days, Feher. Word came down pretty much the moment Ozpin said yes."

Ladislaus's vision fully focused as she mentioned Beacon's headmaster. "How do you know Ozpin?"

Fenia chuckled, lowering the weapon slightly. "I'm a Silencer. I know the names of any Hunter with access to the corridors of power." Her arm straightened again, returning the pistol to its position, resting on Ladislaus's throat. "But enough small-talk. Any final words?"

* * *

><p>Marcel and Roxane reached the room first, barging through the door as Ladislaus was being stood in front of a woman. Roxane drew her SMGS and prepared to open fire to draw their attention, before being waved down by Marcel. "If they're going to kill him, they would have done it already. You shooting at them isn't going to help things."<p>

"And if they shoot him?"

"His aura should soak up most of it. I think." To confirm his theory, he quickly pulled up his scroll. Ladislaus's aura registered at about a third full on the display. "Most of it."

Roxane looked at him in disbelief. "You're willing to bank on his aura being strong enough to stop him from being shot _badly_? Why not just shoot now, save him from being shot at all?"

"Look at him, Rox. He's got something planned. Nobody goes that quietly to their death."

The two were soon joined by Catrin, who charged past them, sprinting around the seats. The woman raised her pistol to Ladislaus's head. "Screw this. Marc, your plan's a bust, I'm shooting."

Marcel looked to his teammate before drawing his own pistols. "Whatever you say. If he dies, it's on you."

* * *

><p>Ladislaus's 'final words' were cut short as a hail of gunfire erupted from across the room. Fenia, aware that she was out of time, fired at Ladislaus before ducking to the floor. The two men she'd brought with her followed suit, dropping Ladislaus in their efforts to take cover. Ladislaus, stunned by the sudden gun battle that was unfolding, tried to ensure he was not a target for this second group that arrived, assuming it was not his team. His attempts to roll himself to see this third party were met with pain, soon explained as he felt a sticky, warm feeling emanating from his side. "Oh, that doesn't feel good."<p>

He briefly unfastened his cuirass to confirm what he feared: his wound from Pyrrha's duel had been reopened in the chaos. "Dammit." He tried to ascertain how bad the bleeding was, but his vocal complaints had not gone unnoticed, as another voice rose over the din. "Fenia! He's hurt! I were you, I'd put him down now!"

Fenia, who'd previously been trying to calculate an exit route, listened to the man, looking at Ladislaus. "No, our job here's done. It doesn't look like the kind of wound that he can just wish away. Get ready to move."

Ladislaus tried to guess at what was going to be done to let them escape, before his vision went black. _Oh, I see. Blind the room. As long as they know where to go, or can see, it doesn't matter. Alternatively, I'm on the verge of passing out from… blood loss, I guess, but that's not been happening long enough._

Whatever concern Ladislaus had about passing out was soon eliminated when his vision returned, showing that the room was now devoid of everyone except himself and his team, who he presumed was the party opening fire. He dragged himself to a nearby seat when he heard footsteps. "That better be you guys. I'm gonna be pissed if it isn't."

"Calm down, Laz. As far as I can tell, we just saved your life."

Ladislaus smiled, pleased that his team did, in fact, make it to him. "Don't get too far ahead of yourselves just yet. Would it have killed you guys to try and disarm Fenia? The aura hit, along with being flung to the ground, didn't exactly help my case, injury-wise." To illustrate his point, he brought a blood-stained gauntlet up from his side.

Roxane smirked at the injury, while Catrin tried to help Ladislaus up. "You're pretty frail under all that armour, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Rox. I reckon I can break you in half. Now, who wants to go and deliver the news?"

Marcel nodded to the doorway, now populated with people. "I don't think we need to say anything. Me and Rox probably made enough noise to draw everyone in the building."

Ladislaus frowned at the crowd. "Perfect. This won't bode well." His frown deepened as Professor Goodwitch cut through, storming around the arena to the four. "And then, it got worse."

"Yes, Mister Feher. It got worse. I take it you had something to do with the unauthorised combat in this room? We have a duelling area in the gym for a reason."

Ladislaus straightened himself as best he could, whilst still using Catrin as support. "Yes, ma'am. I was party to the affairs of the morning. If it's all the same to you, this is probably a conversation better had in private. Less chance of," Ladislaus looked to the crowd as he said this, "unnecessary alarm, especially given the number of non-Beacon students milling about."

Professor Goodwitch's eyes narrowed, before she decided to get a brief overview. "A few questions, first. Who did this?"

"My…" Ladislaus searched for an appropriately neutral word. "My church did this."

"You mean the Silentium."

"Respectfully, ma'am, I'd rather not outright mention them. I know that the Cerulans exist outside of Vale, and I've no idea how many students from the other kingdoms are aware of them. So, in the interests of not causing alarm, can we take this conversation to your office or somewhere?"

"Very well, Mister Feher. If you wish for privacy, we shall get some privacy." She beckoned for them to follow as she walked towards the door.

"Uh, Professor? It's great that we're not discussing this until we're in private, but can we get Ladislaus checked out first? He might not have said anything about it, but that injury from his first class with you got reopened, and it's flowing pretty heavily."

Professor Goodwitch turned briefly, while Catrin adjusted Ladislaus's posture so that the wound was more visible. "I see. I shall have medical personnel meet us at my office. Unless you don't believe that Mister Feher will survive the walk."

Catrin noted the iciness in her tone before looking to Ladislaus for his opinion. "Think you're up to it?"

"Cat, of course I'm 'up to it'. Don't have much hope for being a Hunter if I can't keep going despite that wound." Noticing that Professor Goodwitch was starting to walk away again, he waved to his team. "Anyway, let's go. Can one of you grab Vindicta on the way out? I'd hate to have to stop by later to grab it out of the seats."

Roxane and Marcel briefly raised an eyebrow at the mention of 'Vindicta'. "It's my weapon, guys. Seven foot-ish ranseur. Looks like a spear and a trident had a kid. I swear I told you this yesterday. Should be in the third row on the door side." This description seemed to allay their confusion as they both nodded and began walking.

Having felt he described his weapon accurately enough, he began to follow, supported by Catrin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

And so ends Book 1. I rewrote this chapter to better set it out, and also because I was throwing in far too many developments in the first write-up. I've since shifted all of the major plot developments to the next chapter, which will open out Book 2.

Also in this revision: Renamed the Silencer, threw in different plot aspects.

This chapter ends a little suddenly, especially for a partial conclusion, but there's no real way I can end the chapter, and therefore the book, satisfactorily without rewriting it in full.

In any case, the opening to Book 2, as intended, will drop around the same time as RWBY Volume 3 debuts. In the meantime, feel free to read the whole book, tell me what I did right (or what I did wrong), and give me feedback. It's kinda hard to write in a vacuum with no reactions.

- Zip


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